Power Rangers Jungle Fury: Heart Of the Lioness
by MissKitty44
Summary: There's a reason for everything. There always is. And Jarrod's sudden bullying behaviour is no exception. Casey was right. He really was alone. Because his only sister left for Japan 3 years ago. Takes place during Power Rangers Jungle Fury, though it may go into the aftermath of Jungle Fury too.
1. Prologue

**Hi! Welcome to my first ever story! Since I love Power Rangers, I decided to throw my own hat into the ring and submit my own PR story! Hope you enjoy! Like all other stories, Power Rangers and its characters do not belong to me, but to the original owner of the series. May the power protect you!**

Maya zipped her bag up and sighed with relief as she finished packing her things. She didn't recall having so much stuff when she first arrived there. She hadn't intended to stay in Japan for so long, but by doing so she had become a lot stronger and had a lot of new abilities that she could use to help people.

People like her brother.

Jarrod had always been a nice kid. When their parents left home for a business trip in another country, she remembered he didn't cry until late at night, when they were both in their bedrooms. She heard him through the wall.

She cried too when her parents were presumed to be dead after being away for half a year.

Maya found ways of distracting herself and her brother. Charity events. Horse riding. Kung Fu and self defence training. Anything to help them both get over the agony of losing their parents. The Fishers helped too. And so did Master Mao, when he accepted Jarrod into Pai Zhua academy when they were both 9 years old. She wasn't accepted in until she was 13, when Mao said that her animal spirit was no longer locked away, no longer closed up in her heart like it was when she was 9. Those next years were a blur to Maya. She couldn't remember much. She remembered Dominic, she remembered Mao and her brother... And she remembered when she said goodbye to Jarrod as she left for Japan three years ago, when they were both 16.

The two wrote letters to each other as much as possible. She would tell him all the amazing sites she had seen, all the things she had learnt, all the food she had tried for the first time. He would tell her about any new students, anything exciting that happened, new things he had learnt too. That's how the letters started anyway. But over time, the letters became shorter, less things going on, then less letters altogether... She hadn't received a letter from him in a year. That third year in Japan she spent worrying about her brother, if he was safe, if he was even alive. He was all she had left. She was all he had left.

Maya sighed again and took one last look at the room she had spent three years sleeping in. "Well, thanks for keeping me warm, room. Didn't expect the bed to be so cosy! " she said quietly, before chuckling a little. She picked up her backpack and put it on, before leaving the room the same way it was when she had arrived.

She had already said goodbye to the Masters, and she didn't want to become red-eyed from crying again, so she headed straight for the exit, leaving without looking back. She didn't want to look back. Only forward. She had to go home. Back to the academy. Back to her brother and his room and, maybe, his masters stripes. By now he should have at least became one of the guardians protecting the evil Dai Shi. Maybe he even had came up with the idea of finally putting a lock on that box! She grinned to herself as she thought about it. She had missed Ocean Bluff, she missed her brother and friends and masters. She was done missing now.

"Watch out Ocean Bluff. Here I come."


	2. Chapter 1 - Warrior

After a long battle with Grizzaka that day, the Jungle Fury Rangers were exhausted. A lot of the city had been ruined by the onslaught of Zocato power and RinShi, and after making sure the remainder of the crystal eyes were safe, they had spent quite some time helping with restoring the city. Even though they knew it would get destroyed again someday soon, they wanted to make sure the civilians still living in Ocean Bluff had as good as life as possible.

When they had returned to the Jungle Karma Pizzeria, the first thing the group did was collapse on whatever chair, beanbag or meditation mat they saw first, leading to some awkwardness at first, then settling down and relaxing their aching joints.

"That has to be, by far, the toughest and most exhausting day we have ever had since we started this whole Power Ranger thing," Lily had said breathlessly as she flopped down on a cosy beanbag nearby the stairs.

"I feel ya there. I'm so exhausted! And we still gotta do the afternoon pizza rush don't we?" Theo groaned as he also opted to relax on a beanbag. This was followed by a chorus of annoyed sounds ranging from groans to muffled shouts of rage from those who had landed face first onto their cosy chair and/or bean bag.

"Why is life so cruel?" Dom grumbled as he sat himself up on the meditation mat he practically collapsed onto.

"I guess this is what being a hero is like, much less a Power Ranger," Theo answered, chuckling softly, "But shoot, I REALLY wish that being Pai Zhuq didn't result in half a dozen people wanting to fight us."

"By people, you mean beasts, right?" Lily grinned as she heard Theo groan again.

"You know what I mean!"

Casey laughed a little as he sat up in his hammock, which he had gone straight to as soon as they entered the loft. "Easy guys, save your strength for later. And tomorrow. And for the next few days. Cuz we still have some problems with Dai Shi to deal with."

"Y'mean the remaining crystal eyes he probably has?" RJ questioned.

"Yea. Remember, we've only got the five. Dai Shi and the beasts still have three, unless those three are still somewhere scattered across the Earth because they dropped them or whatever." Casey looked at his team with a worried expression. "Those things are dangerous if they stay in his hands. But... It was hard enough to get the case Camille stole from him. These three may be even harder. And maybe Jellica has them, if we're really unlucky, since she was there too for a moment before running off when Dai Shi and I were fighting in that clearing."

"Let's think about this later. For now, we should rest."

"Right. More energy, more focus, better plan. Everyone get some shut eye. These next few days may be difficult." Casey lied down in his hammock and snuggled up under some blankets. The rest of the crew agreed, and after alerting Fran of their nap, who understood completely, dozed off for a few well deserved hours until they were woken up for the next rush of customers. After that... It was time to plan.

* * *

Casey yawned sleepily as he got up from his hammock. They had spent most their time after the final rush of customers in the pizzeria planning what to do, and how to locate the final three crystal eyes. The team had concluded that the team would check for any signs of them being at the area where Dai Shi and Casey fought. If they didn't find them then, the team decided to storm the temple along with the Masters, and retrieve them.

The group then decided they ought to rest for a bit longer before their hunt, for they knew that night would be when the stars were in the right alignment to bring back the Phantom Beasts, and if they were to try and find these crystal eyes before then, they had to act fast. So they rested, and now Casey was awake. He quickly began to wake his teammates, so they could throw their plan into motion. Once everyone was up and out their PJs, they headed to the fighting area, and began to search in a unit.

"Alright, we better start where he hid them and work outwards," RJ said as they head into the peaceful forest area, "Y'think we should split up?"

"We should, that way we can cover more ground faster!" Lily agreed almost immediately, and Dom seemed to agree too. However, the rest of the team was hesitant.

"I dunno, what if we get attacked?" Theo asked with a concerned expression on his face.

"Oh come on, the odds of that are super low! Dai Shi needs sleep, cuz Y'know, he's using Jarrod as a body and humans need their sleep, and Camille is probably dozing off as well!" Lily explained in a quiet yet annoyed voice. "As for the beasts, something tells me they won't attack without direct orders from their leader, and if that's not the case then they probably need sleep too, since nobody said they get energy from fear, they get their strength from it."

"But there's still a chance, isn't there?" Casey looked Lily in the eyes, and she sighed.

"I guess so. Alright, alright, let's look in groups. But we should at least go in a group or two and a group of three."

Dom nodded. "That's a good enough middle ground. We can still get ground covered, while being able to back each other up if we get attacked while looking around this area.

"Sounds like a good idea to me!" RJ said, cheekily grinning. "Let's get to work then!"

"I think not~" a recognisable woman's voice echoed throughout the clearing, and the team were not surprised when they saw Camille of all people sauntering towards them. "What are you five doing in the woods? Are you lost~?"

"Shouldn't you be asleep!?" Dom asked angrily, preparing his morpher.

"I told you we'd probably get attacked," Theo muttered to Lily, who elbowed him to get him to shut up. Camille just chuckled and stared at the group with her dark eyes. She looked different than usual, wearing a different warrior dress, flat shoes, and her glossy black hair flowed down her back flawlessly as opposed to her usual style.

"I was... unable to rest, so I came out here for a little wander. The fact I've found you five is simply just perfect timing."

Casey growled at her. "Perfect timing to kick you a-"

"Language! Even I don't tolerate such inappropriate words."

"Anyone would think you were a parent, speaking like that!" Lily chuckled, pulling her solar morpher out her pocket along with Theo and Casey. "Then again, I imagine you probably have to babysit the other beasts; your master included!"

"Why you little-!" Camille quickly pulled her daggers out from underneath her dress, enraged at such a comment. "How dare you talk about Dai Shi like that!"

"Let's take her down, team!" Casey shouted, a confident grin on his face.

"Right! Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!"

The team morphed, a flash of various colours almost blinding the chameleon woman. Almost immediately after the flash, she was met with the five rangers all charging at her at once. Camille quickly backflipped out of the way, just barely avoiding the claws of Theo and the blade of Dominic's rhino morpher. Gripping her daggers tight in her hands, she sliced at the Rangers, creating a shockwave of power which threw only three of the team off balance, leaving the remaining two, Lily and Casey, to jump at her again. Camille managed to take them on, quickly flipping over them before slicing them both in the back, knocking them down and allowing her to deal with the other three.

RJ charged at her first, with Dom behind him to back him up, and she jumped hastily over him, kicking Dominic in the chest and knocking him back. He quickly got up, however, and kicked at her as hard as he could. Camille winced a little, but shook the attack off fast enough to dodge his rhino blade, knock it out his hand, and send him to the floor with a series of quick kicks. When Theo rushed at her, she blocked his claw with her daggers, and then sent another shockwave at him, before hurriedly turning her attention back to RJ. She's too late, however, and receives a flurry of harsh punches and knees to her body, sending her flying backwards. Camille can barely react in time and stop herself from colliding into whatever was behind her, and her body crashes into a tree.

"Alright, nice one RJ!" Casey rushed over with Lily and put a hand on RJ's shoulder. "That was awesome!"

"Yea, that took care of her easily! Should've done that sooner!" Dom chuckled.

Camille was almost stunned, lying on the floor at the trunk of the tree in a daze, with fuzzy vision, daggers no longer in her hands, nor in her reach. Her head had hit the tree too, and she was in horrible pain, unable to focus and activate her armoured form. She could feel something damp running down her head: she couldn't figure out whether it was sweat, or perhaps blood. Desperate, she attempted to get herself up, but she was so nauseous, she ended up back on the floor. Knowing she was done for, her last desperate measure was to curl up on the floor and protect herself.

"Let's finish her off!" Theo shouted, with agreement from everyone.

"Claw cannon!"

"Wolf beam!

"Rhino morpher, super blade!"

The three charged up their attacks and aimed them at Camille, who was still curled up on the floor. Fully charged, they all fired at her...

Only to have their shots blocked by powerful energy in colours of gold and black.

"What the- who is it this time!?" Casey dropped the claw cannon as he and the remainder of his team look to see who the new challenger is.

"Jesz, don't any of you know not to attack a lady when she's down?" they're answered with a somewhat deep feminine voice. The smoke clears, and who they first assumed to be Dai Shi, was someone completely different. She looked like Dai Shi, wearing powerful looking black and gold armour, but she wore a skirt, no trousers, and heeled boots, and she seemed to wear no helmet either, but instead a visor very similar to Dai Shi's lion helmet, allowing them to see only pink blushed cheeks and red made up lips. This also allowed the warrior's long, flaming ginger hair to flow elegantly behind her. The team were completely baffled by this new warrior. Cogs start to turn in Dominic's head. That hair and figure in general seemed so... Familiar.

Camille looked up weakly, the world around her still spinning somewhat. All she could make out was a figure in black, defending her. "M-Master...?"

The figure turned around and kneeled in front of Camille. The most the injured lizard could make out now was flame-like hair, constantly burning. "No, I'm not your Master. But I'll take you back to him. You aren't safe here." Camille just nodded wearily in response. What else had she got to lose at this point? The female warrior picked up Camille carefully and held her with a cautious yet strong grip.

"There we go. Just relax, and I'll take you safety," the female warrior said softly, back to the Rangers.

Just then, something snaps in Dominic's memory.

"Hey!" He called out to the woman, and she turned to look at them.

"What do you want, rhino ranger?" Her voice was like velvet, soothing to listen to, yet they could hear the ferocity in her voice, ferocity which matched her powerful stance.

"I... I think we've met before. Come back here, once you are done... Because I want to talk with you." He tried to sound intimidating, but Dom couldn't quite muster up the courage to be as strong as he wanted to sound. The lady, however, seemed to nod.

"Okay then. I'll do just that." She then turned away, and in a flash of golden lightening, she disappeared, still holding the wounded Camille in her arms.

"What was that about!?" Theo asked, infuriated. "We come this close to defeating an enemy and then BOOM! Some random chick shows up and saves them!"

"Relax Theo. I think I know why." Dom calmly responded, looking at his enraged friend. "I recognise her. Something about her seems... Familiar."

"What, the Dai Shi armour? Yea, I think we all recognise THAT!" Casey complains, earning a small whack from RJ in order to shut him up.

"No, it isn't the armour. It's her hair. That bright ginger hair... I swear I've seen it before."

The group waited impatiently, and soon, the warrior arrived in a flash of gold lightening, exactly how she had disappeared before to return Camille to the beasts. Judging by her stance, the woman seems to be running out of patience, despite agreeing to return to the team.

"I'm back, like you asked. What is it you want? Some of us would enjoy some sleep sometime soon.'

"Well, you aren't exactly doing yourself any favours by being up this late," Lily commented, earning herself what she could only assume is a death glare, as it made her shiver the moment the warrior looked at her. 'Talk about intimidating...' She thought.

Dom raised his hand, as though to silence both Lily and the ginger warrior. "Um, warrior... I want you to unmask yourself. I will as well."

"Why do you want me to do that?"

"Because I think I know who you are. And I want to confirm I'm not going off the loopy end."

The warrior looked at the floor for a few moments, as though she was contemplating. Then... "Alright. I will."

"Alright. Power down." Dominic powered down, returning to his civilian form. At the same time, the warrior before them seemed to power down as well... And Dom's suspicions were confirmed.

There before them stood a young girl, about their age, and around about the same height too. Her hair was no longer tamed, but wild and messy. She wore a black leather biker jacket, with black jeans, and gold trainers that looked almost brand new: if they weren't brand new, they were most certainly cared for. She had dark brown eyes, pale pink lips, and somewhat pale skin, with only a little blush. She looked tough, yet had features like that of a china doll. However, this china doll had scars and old scratches from what the Rangers could only assume to be old battle injuries.

The girl looked at Dominic... And seemed to light up. "Dominic!?" Her voice was melodic, no longer deep and serious, and her eyes lit up with joy.

Dom grinned his bright, cheeky grin. "Maya! I knew I recognised that hair somewhere!"

Maya rushed over, and Dominic hugged her. "How long has it been since I last saw you, eh? Feels like forever!"

"Haha, it's been the same for me, honestly! But it's only been 3 years, I've been keeping track ever since the day I left," Maya smiled at Dominic with a fond expression, "It's great to see you again, old friend."

"Heh, likewise. I've missed you, ya little crazy cat!" He laughed and ruffles her hair, causing her already wild hair to go even more crazy.

"Power down!" The rest of the Rangers all powered down, and almost immediately, the questions began.

"Dom, who the heck is this?"

"How do you two know each other?"

"Is she on our side or not?"

"What's this about her being away for three years?"

"Woah woah woah, chill out!" Maya was the one who shut them up. "Ain't gonna make any progress all talking at once. Breathe, okay?"

"Jeez, you have an attitude!" Lily rolled her eyes.

"And you were about to destroy a lady who was almost on the brink of death. Who hits a warrior when they're in such a state?"

"She's our enemy!" Lily exclaimed angrily: she's beginning to get annoyed at this newcomer.

"And? She's my enemy too, I'm Pai Zhua as well. But just because she's my enemy doesn't mean I don't have permission to help her when she's half knocked out because one of your teammates thought it would be a good idea to throw her into a gosh darn tree!"

"Easy ladies, don't be at each other's throats. Maya, this is Lily who you're arguing with, that's Theo beside her, RJ behind Theo and lily, and Casey to the left of RJ. How's about you tell them about yourself and why we know each other?" Dom said in as best a relaxed tone as he could, desperate to stop any fights happening.

"Right, sorry. My name is Maya Jones, I'm 19, and I'm Pai Zhua, as I just said. I used to go to Pai Zhua, I got accepted into the academy when I was 13, 4 years after my twin brother, when we were 9. Since you guys are Pai Zhua too, you probably know him. Anyway, I met Dom through my brother, cuz he and Dominic were roommates for a while. We all trained together and stuff for a while, but when I was 16, Master Mao sent me to Japan to improve because my animal spirit wasn't the most amazing thing in the world."

"What's your animal spirit?" Casey asked, curious.

"Black Lioness. Hence my armour, because that's a special thing I managed to access while in Japan. My brother has armour too, I haven't seen him in 3 years either so I dunno if he's got his armour yet or not." Maya looked at the group, after adjusting her jacket while answering the question, and realised that the group aside from Dominic were all looking at her with a worried expression. "What? Did I do something wrong?"

"Uhm.. Who's your twin brother, may I ask?" RJ asked politely, though he began to piece it together.

"My twin brother is Jarrod. Jarrod Jones. Again, he's Pai Zhua, maybe you've heard of him, maybe you haven't, I don't know." Maya sighed and looked at the floor, saddened. "Ah darn it, I hate getting all emotional, but I miss him. Jarrod was all I had for family, for years. He always had my back, and I always tried to have his. He and me were super close. Then... Then Mao said that he would accept Jarrod but not me. And then 3 years after he accepts me, he sends me off to another country, leaving Jarrod all alone. If I had known that my bro would get so twisted that he'd end up releasing Dai Shi and then begin to try and take over Ocean Bluff, I would never have left."

"Wait, when did you find out?" Dom turned to Maya, confused.

"Mao told me when I arrived at the school. It was abandoned, and the first thing I saw was the chamber doors open. I ran down, saw the open box... And I immediately began to get worried. I ran to his old dorm, but all I found of my bro was his uniform and a couple other random things that he owned. Then... Then Mao showed up and told me everything. I don't think I've cried that hard in years, haha... Ah, that's not funny, sorry."

"No, it's okay, you can laugh all you want if you really want to. There's nothing wrong with hiding your emotions." Dom petted Maya's crazy hair, and this seemed to, thankfully, calm the lioness.

"Thanks Dom. I just.. I wish I could've been there for him. I wish I could have stopped him from becoming so reckless. I swore that I would protect him. Maybe that's why he stopped sending letters: maybe he just doesn't care about me anymore. I dunno... I can't really ask him."

"... Come on, let's go back to our base. You come too Maya. We can have a hot drink, and we can fill you in on details. We were gonna look for something, but... That can wait." RJ put a comforting hand on Maya's shoulder, and she looked at him with her dark eyes. She felt like she could trust Dom's new group of friends.

"Thanks... RJ, is it?"

"Yea, it's RJ."

"Thanks RJ. I seriously appreciate it."

"Well you got better manners than I first thought you'd have: I like you already!" Theo chuckled a little, trying to lighten the mood. It worked, and Maya giggled.

"My bro used to have good manners too: keywords being 'used to', haha!"

* * *

Dai Shi sat by Camille, in the dimly lit bedroom. His cloak hung by the door, on a simple hook. He had been sat there since he brought her inside, having been left at his doorstep, carefully laid down and with makeshift bandages covering up the wounds on his faithful companion's body. She had rested for a while, and now was awake, injuries tended to by the beast healer.

"What happened to you?" Was his first question, after making sure she was fully awake and able to talk to him.

"I... I went out to have some fresh air. I couldn't rest. And... I found the Rangers. They... They were looking for the Crystal Eyes, the remaining 3. I tried to fight them, however..." She looked at one of her bandaged limbs as she spoke, "I wasn't very successful. They were just so strong, even if I tried to deal with one after knocking down two others. They... They are stronger than we thought. Especially as a unit."

Dai Shi looked at the floor: this would mean more training, but for now, he needed answers. "So... Who left you at the door, then knocked, and fled? Was it one of the beasts?"

Camille shook her head very gently. "No... It was... I don't quite know. It was not a ranger. Actually, at first, I-I thought it was YOU, Master."

"Me?!" He was taken aback by this: who dares to try and copy him!?

"Yes... But then I-I saw bright ginger hair, and.. I knew it wasn't you. They had armour like yours, master, that is why I thought it was you." Camille flicked some hair out her face carefully, and was about to continue talking, when she noticed how Dai Shi was holding his head, almost in pain, and seemed to be looking at the floor. "My lord...? I-Is everything alright?"

He didn't respond to her. He was too focused on these sudden memories that were causing him immense pain.

Ginger hair... Letters... A small, sweet, loving twin...

HIS twin.

"Master! Are you quite alright? D-Do... Do I need to call in the hea-"

"I'm... I'm fine... J-Just... A headache." Jarrod recovered, and managed to look up at the concerned woman sat in front of him. "Haven't had much sleep..."

"I-I see... Well... Do you want to go rest?" Camille asked, her voice soft and calm.

"Y-Yes, I think... I think I will. You rest too, Camille," He managed to say, before leaving the room, and rushing back to his own, just down the corridors from her room. Jarrod sat himself on his bed, holding his head once again.

"I-It can't be... There's no way..."

He looked up at the mirror just across the room from his bed, and all he could see is Her in the reflection... The uniform he knew so well, the cheesy grin as she told him to stay strong for her sake, the big brown eyes trying hard not to cry as she said farewell, the ginger hair he used to brush and pet and fluff.

Three years ago, she left for Japan. And now, three years later, she was back home.

"Maya..."


	3. Chapter 2 - Phantoms

"So you're telling me that if we don't find these crystal eyes, then these Phantom Beasts will be brought back?"

That's the basics of the situation, yes. Any other questions Maya?" RJ asked the lioness. After bringing her back to the restaurant and making a hot drink for everyone, the team had began to fill Maya in on everything that had happened, including the crystal eyes which they had been looking for prior to Camille's sudden appearance.

Maya took another sip of her hot chocolate and then looked at the wolf master. "Yea, actually; Why didn't we just stay out there and keep looking? These phantom beasts sound dangerous!"

"They weren't there, we would have found them otherwise," Casey answered for RJ. When RJ looked at him with a puzzled expression, he explained. "I looked at where Dai Shi had hidden the eyes prior to when we fought. They weren't in that spot. Jellica probably got away with them. That means that she has them, and is probably going to awaken the phantom beasts which are trapped inside."

Theo sighed a little. "Which means more enemies for us to fight."

"Can't we just storm Dai Shi's temple? Jellica has to have gone there, where else would she go? We can storm the temple, find the eyes, knock out some beasts and get the eyes out of the starlight!" Maya protested, putting her mug of hot chocolate on the work table in front of her.

"We can't, we would get overwhelmed, especially if Jellica or whoever has the eyes has managed to awaken the phantom beasts already. Besides, we can't leave Lily here with Gabby. The only thing we can do now is anticipate the phantoms and try to defeat them," Theo responded firmly.

"But-!"

"NO, Maya. The answer is no and will continue to be no! Jeez, you don't know when to give up do you?"

Dom decided to intervene quickly. "Hey, that's too far Theo. Give the girl a break, will you?" He said in a stern voice.

"All three of you, just calm down," RJ scolded. "Now isn't the time to be getting in each other's faces. Maya, I know you want to run in and be a hero, but now isn't the time. Theo, it wasn't cool to be rude to Maya like that. And Dom, just... Get out of Theo's face, he's allowed an opinion. Even if its a bit mean spirited." The three look at both each other and RJ, and seemed to agree. Maya picked her mug up again and sipped some more of her drink, and Dom apologised quietly to Theo before going back to his own cup of tea he made.

"... So what now?" Casey asked, finishing his cup.

RJ drank the last of his hot chocolate, then placed the mug carefully in the sink. "I'll go see how Lily and Gabby are doing upstairs. It really is late, and she should get back to her home before her family starts to worry."

"Good idea. Then we can all get some rest. Maya, do you mind sleeping in a hammock?"

"No, I don't mind at all. But I don't mind sleeping on the floor or somethin' if you don't have enough hammocks or beds for me to sleep in.'

Casey narrowed his eyes. "You sure Maya?"

She nodded firmly at the tiger. "I'm sure. I'm the newbie after all. Seems wrong that I take your bed from you." She spoke in short, brief sentences, not wanting to say anything out of place to anger anyone else, even if she knew she could argue back until the other person gave up.

"Well... Alright, if you're so sure Maya. If we don't have any hammocks left, we'll gather up some pillows and blankets, and you can sleep on the floor," Casey said, sounding quite uncertain.

"Alright. Thank you."

* * *

Dai Shi turned around in his throne as he heard the thudding sound. He had been unable to get any sleep, no thanks to Jarrod's sudden rush of memories, and he had gone to the throne room to process everything which had happened that day. Camille had joined him too, although Dai Shi told her several times to go back to bed and rest. She stood by the throne, looking around for the source of the thudding which turned out to be at the door. Her injuries were still bandaged up nice and neatly, although there were dark patches on some of them. Although she couldn't change into her armour, she was far too weak for that, she did pull out her blades which had been returned to her by a beast ordered to return to the fight site and collect them. Dai Shi got up as the doors continues to shake and the thudding sound continued, ready to fight and protect both himself and his loyal warrior. The doors shook violently, before flying open. The phantom beasts walked in, growling as they stood in front of Dai Shi and Camille.

"The phantom beasts..." Muttered Dai Shi angrily.

"Correction; MY phantom beasts!" Jellica remarked, walking over from the doors to where Dai Shi stood. "I have been loyal to you for centuries, Dai Shi! I taught you all I know, I made you stronger!" She placed a cold hand on his shoulder as she spoke. "And WHAT do you do to repay me? You hunt me down, determined to destroy me!" She walked to the throne, and cackled. "Well, 'mighty' Dai Shi, it is YOU who is finished!" She turned around to face the phantom beast generals, and hit the bottom of her staff against the floor. "Destroy him, phantom beasts! Oh, and the lizard too, if you wish. Although I think perhaps a loyal slave will do nicely!" In an instant, Dai Shi grabbed hold of Camille's hand, and pulled her behind him, so she was safe from the phantom beasts. He wasn't going to lose her or his throne without a fight. As he was about to throw off his cloak and go into his armoured form, the lead phantom beast shouted "Get her!" And he along with the other two phantom beasts all teleported behind them, and surrounded Jellica, much to her shock.

"What?! How dare you?! You traitors!" She shrieked angrily. She had no time to attack or knock them away, and with powerful glowing energy, the three phantom beasts shattered Jellica into pieces which evaporated immediately. The sea overlord was no more. Dai Shi and Camille looked at the phantom beasts in absolute shock at what just happened. Camille carefully put away her sai so she avoided being seen as a threat, although even the phantom beasts could see how damaged she was from a battle and how little a threat she obviously was.

"We are the phantom beast generals!" The lead phantom beast said in a deep, menacing tone. "I am phantom beast general Scorch! This is phantom beast general Snapper," he gestured towards the phantom beast with glowing yellow eyes and a significantly larger stature than his fellow phantoms. "And this is phantom beast general Whiger," Scorch continued as he gestured towards the more slender blue-eyed phantom beast to the other side of him. "We are served by 8 phantom beast warriors, each with a different animal spirit and different abilities!" He clapped his hands impatiently, and Dai Shi and Camille quickly turned around to see the 8 phantom beasts teleport in and all of them bow briefly. "Go on, introduce yourselves, quickly."

"Yes general Scorch! I am Sonimax, with the spirit of the boar!"

"Why hello! I'm Dynamir, with the spirit of the ox!"

"I am Unidoom, with the spirit of the unicorn."

"I'm Rammer, spirit of the goat! And this is my pal Badrat, with, well, the spirit of the rat!"

"Haha, hello!"

"I'm Grinder, with the spirit of the monkey!"

"I am Orsiris, spirit of the cerberus."

"Greetings! I am Lepus, with the spirit of the rabbit!"

"Certainly a colourful cast..." Muttered Camille to herself, although Dai Shi heard and smirked a little. They turned back to the phantom beasts as Whiger began to speak this time.

"Our ancient power of Rinzin is greater than even the mighty Zocato! It is our life blood!" Whiger proclaimed proudly.

Snapper then spoke. "But that is beside the point! We ask that you, great Dai Shi, become our phantom beast king!"

"Me? Your king?" Dai Shi looked confused, and surprised by this. "For years, you tried to destroy me! Why should I trust you?"

Snapper looked at Scorch and Whiger, and then sighed. "In the ancient war, we would have won, if we had followed you. The humans would not have been triumphant, and this world would have belonged to the beasts."

Dai Shi turned to Camille, to get her opinion, and she looked equally confused and conflicted about the matter. "You... You aren't wrong," Camille said softly. "We were all far too busy fighting each other, instead of the humans." When she noticed Dai Shi looking at her, she shrugged a little. "It's true, my lord."

He sighed and nodded in agreement; they should have been united instead of fighting. After thinking about it, he looked up at the phantom beast generals. "You want my trust? You'll have to earn it."

"Understandable, Dai Shi. Together with our warrior Sonimax, we will prove our loyalty! Tell us what to do, and we will do it!" Snapper said confidently.

Dai Shi grinned evilly. A thought had just occurred within his mind. "... Bring me the three living Pai Zhua masters. And... Bring their student to me too. The lioness."

* * *

The next day, Maya and Theo apologised to each other before work started. The others were happy about this, as it meant no potential awkwardness on the battlefield. Despite that, the team were still rather unsure about Maya as a team member. While they could already tell her fighting capabilities were higher than any of their own, they didn't know if she would even fight, given she saved a wounded Camille from her destruction. They weren't sure when it came to Dai Shi either; they could tell that she wouldn't want to hurt her own brother, and even Dominic telling them she used to beat him up a lot during sparring sessions couldn't convince them much.

After talking about it privately, while Maya was in the loft meditating and they were in the kitchen, Theo decided to go ask Master Swoop for some help, since Dom was certain that Swoop knew Maya and her brother. After changing out of his JKP uniform and into his training gear, he headed off quickly to see Master Swoop and ask for advice on the matter.

"Master Swoop! Master Swoop?" Theo called out, not seeing the bat master anywhere. "Are you here Master? I know I only saw you two days ago for extra training but I need your help!" Despite his calls, he got no response. Worried, Theo jogged over to the large lake, looking around for him still. However, as he jogged, he stood on something that wasn't grass. He stopped, and peered down at the floor.

It was Swoop's fans. Tattered, torn up, and almost destroyed.

Theo gasped and quickly picked up the fans. He scrambled for his morpher and quickly pulled it out, turning on the communication system. "RJ! RJ, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, what's the problem?"

"I need you to check on Master Finn! Master Swoop isn't here! All that's left are his fans! And they're in real bad shape too! Get Lily to go check on Master Phant too!"

"G-Got it! Thanks for telling us Theo! Hurry back to the restaurant as fast as you can!" The communication went dead as soon as RJ was done talking, and Theo was running back a second later.

* * *

"Looks like I'll be going to the competition by myself," Gabby said with a sigh as she got up off her seat and got ready to go to the competition. Lily had been ordered to go out somewhere, and she hadn't returned like she promised she would, leaving Gabby in the loft to keep practicing her dance alone.

"Oh no you won't Gabby. I'll make sure of it!" Gabby turned around quickly to see Maya walking over, a warm smile on her face.

"Maya! You're gonna come with me?"

"Yea, that way i can give you some advice."

"Advice?" Gabby tilted her head, confused. She picked up her bag and began to walk down the stairs from the loft with Maya.

"On how to stay calm. Anyone could tell you're so nervous you'd forget to breathe if it wasn't a major necessity." Maya flicked some hair our her eyes and looked at Gabby with a grin still on her face. "I learnt a lot in Japan. One thing being how to not go into a panic."

"B-But what if I freeze up? What if I forget my dance?" Gabby asked, worried.

"Then you improvise. You get up and you keep dancing. That's what you dancers do right? Think up some other moves to replace the old ones! Just keep dancing! You dance because you enjoy it, right? But not just that, you like seeing people happy because of your dancing too, isn't that right? You like seeing people smiling, watching with wide eyes, amazed and eager to try out the moves for themselves? Am I wrong?" Gabby became silent and looked down at the floor as they walked through the city. "Look. I know you can set the floor on fire with your dancing. Its alright to be afraid. But its great to face that fear too. Because you'll become a lot stronger as a result of that. So face that fear you have. And believe in yourself. Cuz I believe in you. So does Lily. And your uncle."

The two walked through the rest of Ocean Bluff in silence, Gabby not responding and Maya not bothering to try and get the girl to open up a bit more against her own free will. They reached the dance competition, after a few minutes of awkward silence between the two, and finally, they both spoke to each other.

"Well, here we are. You have a good time, Gabby. I'll make sure Lily comes to get you, since I know that'll mean a lot to you." Maya turned around and began to walk away.

"Maya?" Gabby called out to the ginger girl, and got her to turn around. She looked menacing with her black jacket and trousers, and her dark eyes, but yet Maya had a pleasant expression that let the young dancer relax.

"Yea? What is it?"

"...Thanks." She said as she smiled at Maya shyly. "I really needed a confidence boost. Your little pep talk helped a lot. So... Yea."

The lioness was a little surprised, but she smiled back regardless. "You're welcome Gabby. You're a nice kid. You just gotta believe in yourself, that's all," she said in a relaxed tone, so unlike her regular loud and proud one.

"And I will. Thanks to you. See you later!"

"See you later!" Maya watched Gabby wave, then head into the building, still smiling. With a grin still on her face too, Maya began to walk back to the restaurant, even humming a little tune to herself as she made her way back to her temporary home, back to her new team. Her new family. Of course, she would never replace Jarrod, he was still family and she still loved him, but this new group of crazies... She found comfort in. She felt like she could trust them, even if she only knew Dominic the most. She remembered how she felt the same with everyone in Japan. After spending some time with them, she felt safe, she felt like nobody would try to hurt her.

As she turned a corner, Maya was caught off guard by something grabbing her arms and gripping her tight, not letting her go. Maya screamed on instinct, but was silenced by a sharp kick to the back of her leg, causing her to almost fall onto the floor. "Don't even think about getting someone to help you... You're coming with me. King's orders." A deep voice spoke to her, one she hadn't heard before in her life.

"Tell your king he can go to hell! He ain't getting his hands on me!" Maya shouted angrily, struggling against the creature holding onto her. She's kicked again in the back of the leg, and she almost fell over again if not for the thing holding onto her with a painfully firm grip.

"Oh, but he will lioness. He demanded you specifically. You should be honoured," the deep voice chuckled. "But enough talk..."

And in a flash of golden light, they were gone.


	4. Chapter 3 - Captured

Dai Shi sat impatiently at his throne, awaiting the return of the phantom beasts that promised to bring him what he wanted. Camille was still in the throne room with him, though after the phantom beasts had left she had fallen asleep on the steps leading to the throne. Dai Shi had put his cloak over her as a blanket so she could rest a bit better, and stay warm; it was becoming winter, and despite the sunny days it had been getting dark quicker and the nights had became much colder too.

Suddenly, the doors opened, and through came Snapper with Master Phant. Whiger then showed up behind him, dragging along both Master Swoop and Master Finn. Dai Shi smirked as the masters were forced onto their knees by the phantom beasts, before gently tapping Camille and waking her up. He let her keep the cloak wrapped around her as she sat up on the step she had been sleeping on. "I... Only see three. Weren't you meant to get four?" She said in a half tired, half curious voice.

"Scorch has gone to get the fourth. He gave me Swoop then went to go get her," Whiger answered calmly.

"And I succeeded in getting her." They looked around and saw Scorch arriving at the throne room, holding onto a struggling Maya. "Stop that! It won't work!" He barked as he kicked Maya again in the back of the leg before dragging her in front of the throne and pushing her onto her knees. Maya growled and continued to fight Scorch's restraints, but she was unsuccessful.

"What a feisty one she is!" Chuckled Snapper as he watched Maya continue to struggle. "Are you sure you want her, Dai Shi? She seems like quite a challenge to tame."

Dai Shi stood up and walked down the steps, towards Maya. He knelt down in front of her and moved some of her hair out her face. He lifted up her face carefully, by her chin, and got her to look at him. "I'm sure. She's perfect." He smirked. "Its been a while, hasn't it Maya?"

"J-Jarrod... Why did you do this? You promised me you would-"

"Promises mean nothing! What good are promises when you have **power**? What good are promises when you have an entire army at your disposal? You've always been so childish, haven't you Maya? Childish and pathetic. You don't even keep your own promises, yet you expect me to keep mine? This is all **your** fault. Because you left."

"I left because Master Mao told me to! I left so I could become stronger! So I could protect you better!"

"LIAR!" He yelled, and he hit her hard across the face, making Maya wince and leaving a red mark on her cheek. The masters all flinched and so did Camille. The generals looked at each other, surprised by Dai Shi's sudden outburst. When he realised what he had done, Dai Shi quickly got to his feet, looking a little pale. "T-Take her to the dungeon. Now."

"Yes Dai Shi," Scorch said as calmly as possible. "On your feet, lioness!" He ordered, pulling Maya up to her feet. The masters watched, unable to help, as Maya was dragged along to the dungeons, no longer struggling, but instead dazed and upset from being hit by her brother. She wasn't too surprised, given the current circumstances, but Jarrod had never hit her when he was angry. Only when they were sparring and play fighting. So to be smacked by him in an outburst of rage was something that had never happened before, and was something she was definitely was not expecting.

Scorch and Maya arrived at the dungeons, and while she expected to be thrown into one of the ones they walked by, she was surprised when she was thrown into the furthest one, a darker, more cave-like cell with no window, a small blanket as a bed, and the only light source being the candles in the corridor she was pulled along down. He locked the door to the cell with a key, then hung the key on a wall out of her reach. "Hope you get comfortable, lioness. Because you'll be in there for a long time." With a deep laugh, he turned and walked away, and she watched him until he was completely out of sight.

Maya struggled up to her feet and began to investigate her cell. No food, no water, just a bed. On the bright side, at least the floor was smooth, and wasn't all jagged and sharp. The walls were a bit more jagged than the floor, but it wasn't too bad. Sighing, she sat down and felt at the sore mark left on her cheek. She gasped a little when she felt something damp. She was bleeding. "Oh my god... He's got some freaking sharp claws!" Maya said to herself as she covered up the cut with her hand. "Ugh..."

"Here." A woman's voice said as some plasters were thrown through the door to Maya. She looked up to see Camille standing there, looking down at her. "Well don't just sit and stare, put it on. Otherwise it'll get infected," said the lizard in a cold voice. Maya quickly and efficiently put the plasters on the bleeding areas of her cheek. "There you go."

"T-Thanks. But why-?"

"You helped me. Only seemed right I helped you. I figured he would end up scratching you, whether on accident or not, so I got some plasters quickly and followed you down here. Its the least I could do considering you saved my life last night."

"How are your injuries from that?"

"They're okay. Have to keep changing my bandages but they're not bleeding too much now. I'm lucky, apparently. You humans are more likely to succumb to severe head trauma, whereas I only dealt with bleeding. Much worse things can supposedly occur."

"They can, trust me on that. You really are lucky." The two were silent for a bit, unsure what to say to each other. After a minute or two, Camille spoke.

"The human... Jarrod... Are you close to him? He could have asked the phantom beasts to pick any of the rangers... And yet he picked you. Dai Shi had never even heard of you before all this..."

Maya twiddled some of her hair. "Jarrod is my twin brother. Unidentical twins. He and I... Didn't exactly have the best upbringing. Parents left when we were kids, never came back. Pai Zhua took us in."

"Really...? Pai Zhua did that?"

"Yea. They aren't all bad, even if you beasts see them as bad for getting in the way of your plans." Another few moments of silence.

"You.. You do know that when Dai Shi takes over the world, all humans will be destroyed? You and your brother included?" Camille asked in a soft voice, so unlike her usual sarcastic tone. Maya just sighed, nodded, and looked down at the floor, not even answering. Suddenly, they hear Dai Shi, shouting for Camille from presumably the throne room. Camille turned away, and began to walk off, when she stopped, turned around again, and spoke to Maya. "... I will return later. To bring you food and water. Don't do anything wreckless." With that, she left Maya alone in the cell. Maya wondered what Camille meant by not doing anything wreckless, though she assumed it had something to do with either trying to escape or the rock walls which could definitely do some damage to the head if someone were to try and...

"No no no, not going down that path! Nope!" Maya tried to forget the gruesome idea she just thought up and quickly began to try and focus herself on something else. In the end, she decided to meditate, to forget her problems and relax her body, mind and spirit. As she meditated, her black lioness spirit materialised, and protectively laid itself in front of Maya to keep her safe.

* * *

After meditating for what felt like a few minutes, but what really two hours, Maya heard the sound of approaching people made her open her eyes and look to see who it was. The generals were walking the masters to their own cells. Maya was worried immediately; they looked pale and tired out, and Master Finn was being restrained a lot more than the Phant and Swoop were. Each were thrown into a cell close to where Maya was being held. She scrambled to her feet and went to the door, her animal spirit wrapping itself around her leg, still protective.

Whiger turned and noticed Maya standing there, and he walked over. "Is something the matter, lioness?"

"What have you done to the masters? Have you hurt them?" She asked demandingly, staring down Whiger with a cold expression. He simply chuckled.

"You'll find out soon enough. The king wants to see how strong your spirit **_really_** is."

"Oh really? Does he now? Then I expect he'll be quite surprised at how strong it is. She's very feisty you know, loves a good fight," Maya taunted. Whiger chuckled again and shook his head.

"Don't bother trying to hide your fear. I can still feel it. You are still scared. And you have every right to be, human. Because the worst is yet to come." With that, Whiger walked away from the lioness, and left along with the other generals, leaving her at the door of her cell, alone. He was right; she was scared. She didn't know what would happen, if she would ever escape... She was terrified.

The lioness spirit whined a little, frightened, and she hushed it. "It's gonna be okay... We're gonna be okay," she whispered to it, before raising her voice. "Master Finn? Master Phant? Master Swoop? Are you all okay? P-Please answer me..."

"I'm okay Maya. Do not be afraid. You aren't alone," she heard Master Swoop say weakly from his cell.

"Swoop is right... You aren't alone at all. We're still here, and you have your animal spirit to accompany you," Master Phant added, hoping to help calm the lioness.

Master Finn decided to help too, despite his weakened state. "Yes, you are never alone Maya. You will always have your animal spirit by your side. And I'm certain that Mao is watching over you too from the spirit world."

"M-Masters... You have my thanks," Maya stammered, unsure what else to say. She was about to leave the door, when she saw Swoop walk to his cell door and reach a hand out to her.

"If it helps... You may hold my hand, Maya," he said calmly, "For I know how this must be rather tough for you right now."

She shakily reaches out her hand, and holds his tight. "T-Thank you Master... I-I just want to save Jarrod. That's all I want. I didn't want to leave him alone, but I wanted to become stronger, I wanted to be able to protect him better, I wanted to be a good sister... But I failed. I hurt him. I left him to suffer alone. No wonder he hates me..."

Swoop shook his head and squeezed her hand a little. "Maya, you know that isn't true. Jarrod doesn't hate you at all." He continued to soothe the lioness, and it seemed to work better than he originally thought. She even began to rest a little, leaning against the door and holding onto his hand as she rested.

Her sleep was ended by Camille, walking down the corridor to her cell. She stopped when she saw Swoop comforting Maya, like a father would do for his child. She sighed, and walked over. "I hate to do this, but I must wake her now and take her to Dai Shi," Camille said as she turned to look at Swoop.

"What is he going to do to her?"

"I do not know. Not the same as he did to you, I think. But I don't think it will be pleasant," she said simply, before shaking Maya gently. "Hey, lioness. Wake up. Hey! Wake up!" Maya groaned a little and woke up after Camille had to shake her a couple of times. "Dai Shi wants to see you now. In the throne room. You're lucky I convinced him to send me to get you now before feeding time."

"Huh...? Why's that?"

"You humans get cramps after eating right? If you immediately fight or swim or run afterwards? So to avoid cramps, you will eat afterwards. Now hurry, before he changes his mind or comes to get you himself." She reached up and took the keys from their place and unlocked the door, before putting the keys back out of reach. Her grip on Maya was firm, yet not nearly as bad as when Scorch had held her. The masters watched, helpless, as Camille took Maya away, down the corridors, and to the throne room, where Dai Shi was sat waiting in his throne. The phantom beasts were not there, much to Maya's surprise, but she was partially relieved at the same time. "My lord, I have brought the prisoner to you as commanded."

"Good. Now go and get the food ready for the prisoners while I deal with her."

"Yes master." Camille bowed to Dai Shi, and left the throne room, not saying anything else, or even looking at them. Maya and Dai Shi were left alone, in the throne room together, staring each other down. He stood up from his throne, and walked a step closer to her.

"Are you afraid of me Maya?" He asked her, keeping his eyes firmly locked onto hers.

"Of course I'm not. I've never been afraid of you Jarrod. Why would I be afraid of my own brother?"

"Because I've become a lot more stronger since we last fought. Would you like a taste of that power?" He took a few more steps closer. He was taller than her, she only came up to his neck, but that didn't bother her. He always had been the taller one.

"I have a feeling that whatever I say, you'll give me that taste anyway. So why not? I've learnt some new tricks too. Let's see if I can still beat you, just like old times." She took to a defensive stance, one he hadn't seen before. With a smirk, he took to an attack stance, not going into his armoured form; he wanted her to see the enjoyment on his face when he beat her up.

He charged at her, and she quickly dodged out the way of what seemed like a low strike attack, only for him to turn around and suddenly and blast her in the back with powerful dark energy, causing her to stumble forwards. She managed to recover quickly by perfoming a forward roll and then swiftly turning around, but he was in front of her in seconds, shoving her up against the wall hard. "Not so cocky now are you Maya?" He snarled. She growled and kicked him hard in the chest, making him recoil. She sent her own golden energy flying at him, which he countered with ease, sparks of black, dark purple and gold flying through the air as attacks collided and exploded like fireworks.

Maya went on the attack and ran at him, throwing all her strength into the fight. She aimed a punch at his face, which he dodged, only to receive several slashes across the chest followed by a strong kick to the head. A searing pain rushed through Dai Shi, causing him to wince and roar in rage. Wasting no time, she quickly performed a sweeping low kick at his legs which made him fall to the ground. "Who's the top cat now, eh?" She said with a smirk, resting her foot on his chest proudly.

She was taken by surprise when he grabbed her ankle, dragged her down onto the floor with a thud, then pinned her. The roles were reversed as he now lay atop her, making sure she didn't move at their faces were left with only inches between them.

"Seems like you got ahead of yourself, Maya! You underestimated my power, and now you'll be finished!" He snarled, before getting up and dragging her up with him by the neck. With a mighty roar and a blast of zocato power, Maya was sent flying across the throne room, and she crashed into the wall. She cried out in pain as her entire body was flung into the wall, and she slowly slid down and collapsed in a heap on the floor, clutching her shoulder in agony. It felt like she had pulled something badly. He laughed manically. "You're pathetic, you always have been. You made promises you couldn't keep, you always hid behind me and yet you would beat me down during sparring, you thought I would always need you! But you're wrong! I don't need you! I don't need anyone!" He summoned his lion spirit, which roared loudly and walked in circles around it's master, who stood with a strong stance, and a cruel gaze. "Finish her! Prove to her that I don't need her!" The lion roared again, and charged at Maya. She whimpered and curled up, bracing her body for the attack...

That never came.

"W-What?!" She looked up a little, hearing Dai Shi's shock. The lion spirit had stopped right in front of her, and had sat down. It refused to attack. Maya smiled weakly as the lion spirit gently nuzzled her. The lioness spirit had also reappeared, and had wrapped itself around Maya to take a hit for her.

"B-Black lion..." She said in a soft whispery voice, weak and tired. "Thank you..."

"No... No! You're supposed to listen to me! You're supposed to destroy her!" Dai Shi kept angrily screaming at the animal spirit, but it did not obey. It remained by Maya, protecting her. Enraged, he stormed over and grabbed hold of Maya, yanking her up as she yelped in pain. "Fine! I'll destroy you myself! I don't need you! I don't need anyone!" He began to form a large ball of dark zocato energy in his hand, and Maya braced again. "I-I don't... Need anyone... I-I... I..." The dark energy vanished, Maya was dropped to the floor and Dai Shi collapsed onto his knees, holding his head.

Maya looked at him as he knelt there, head bowed, even starting to tremble. Slowly, she got to her knees and wrapped her arms around him, despite her left arm and shoulder being in agonising pain. He gasped a little, surprised, but then slowly wrapped his arms around her, and held her. Despite being in the dungeons of the temple the entire day, she was still so warm...

"M-Maya... I'm so sorry..."


	5. Chapter 4 - Family

**This chapter is gonna be a short one, but one full of feels! Thank you to anyone who's reading this little fanfic, I really appreciate it! With that said, back to the story!**

* * *

Maya held her brother as he broke down into tears. Jarrod rested his head on her shoulder and started to cry, trembling and upset. He had missed her. He missed her fluffy crazy ginger hair, he missed her gentle eyes, he missed her familiar scent of blood, like she had been hunting, along with the scent of the chocolate orange body wash she had used basically all her life, he missed her holding onto him and protecting him. Everything about his sister he had missed dearly over those three long years. The two stayed there, Maya holding him close, for a while, until her brother settled down and stopped crying, although he did sniffle a little.

"I-I'm so sorry Maya... I-I didn't mean to hurt you..." He stuttered, finding it hard to speak with the lump in his throat that had suddenly showed up.

"I know bro... I know. Just calm down, it's gonna be alright... It's gonna be alright," she soothed, gently petting his messy hair with her less painful arm. Slowly, he reached out and stroked her cheek, which he had struck earlier. Jarrod looked guilty, and like he was going to cry again.

"I-I hurt the others too... I-It's all m-my fault..."

Maya shook her head gently, and made sure to look him right in the eyes. "No you didn't. Dai Shi did. It's not your fault Jarrod. Don't blame yourself." She continued to stroke his hair and comfort him as best as she can. "It's my fault. I left you. I should have known you wouldn't be okay all by yourself. Not after all the things we've been through. If I hadn't left, none of this would have happened." She sighed a little. "I'm sorry I let you down bro." Jarrod, unsure what to even say to her, didn't respond, and just continued to stroke her cheek gently, then move on to stroking her hair. Maya stayed still and let him do this, as it certainly seemed to help calm him down.

After a minute or two of silence, Jarrod eventually spoke to Maya., a sudden thought occurring to him. "You can't stay here... You aren't safe. Y-You need to get out of here, quickly, otherwise you're gonna get hurt more."

"But I don't know where the exit is, Jarrod. I've never been here before, and I got teleported here when Scorch captured me, meaning I've only seen a little bit of the temple outside of the throne room," Maya replied in a slightly shaky voice.

"I'll help, I know this place well."

"But what about the phantom beasts? Or Dai Shi?"

"The phantom beasts are guarding the masters, and I can hold off Dai Shi long enough for me to get you out of here a for you to run away quickly. Or teleport. Speaking of that, can you teleport now?"

"No, I can't. Scorch must have done something to limit my powers so I can't escape. I've been feeling weak ever since he captured me."

"Then we'll have to walk our way there, I don't want you collapsing on me," he stated. Slowly, he got to his feet, and offered a hand out to Maya to help her. As she got up, her bad arm suddenly spiked in pain and she winced. "Are you okay?! Oh god, you haven't broken your arm have you?!" He asked frantically, looking afraid

"N-No, I think I've just pulled something really badly... Y'know you're really freaking strong when you're all angry?"

Jarrod chuckled a little. "I'm aware. Once I was able to lift up the wolf master unarmored."

"You managed to lift up RJ? No way! That's so cool! And you have armour?"

"Yea, came with the whole Dai Shi thing. You have armour as well so I'm told."

As the two of them left the throne room, they began to talk and catch up a little, all while avoiding beasts and RinShi. He told her what happened and why Dai Shi was released, since Mao had only clued her in a little on what had gone down in the forbidden room. It was nice to be able to talk to him, even though Maya knew this time was short. She tried to make the most of the time they had together, but it was hard for her to find many words. She told him about her last year in Japan and that she had been training extra hard so she could help protect him from harm. While she managed to hold back her tears, it was very difficult. It had been three years since they had spoken to each other face to face. He had changed, became much more mature. But he had also gone down a dark path, and while she could reach through that darkness now, she wasn't sure if she would be able to again.

After a long walk, they made it to a series of red archways. "Well, here we are. This is the way out of the temple ground," stated Jarrod, before turning to Maya. "You'll be able to make it to Ocean Bluff from here, there's a dirt path which is used. Just keep running, and if you have to, hide from any danger."

"Thanks for the help bro. I mean it." Maya smiled up at him with a warm expression that made him smile back. But that smile faded, and he gently rested his hands on her shoulders. "Jarrod? Is something wrong?"

"No, just.. Maya, please... Don't come back to save me. If you got hurt again I'd never be able to forgive myself for it. I know you can fight well, I know you can take on the beasts, but the phantoms... They're powerful. If they managed to stop you from fighting back and capture you they can easily take you out if you come back and try to save me. And... Dai Shi is strong too. You know that. So... Don't return here. There's no saving me anyway... Dai Shi is too strong for me to get rid of him by this point."

"But you're holding him back now! You're stopping him from hurting me now!"

"Yes because I don't want to hurt you! You're my sister, I love you! That's whats holding back Dai Shi! Please Maya, don't make this harder than it already is! I don't want to say goodbye to you, not after I just got you back, but this is for your own safety! I'm dangerous! So are all the other beasts here! So please, just go!"

Maya whimpered, and finally snapped. The tears she held back could be fought no longer, and she started to cry. With a soft sobbing sound, she hugged him tight, holding onto him with a grip that he could tell indicated she never wanted to let go. With a soft sigh, he hugged back, trying to soothe her.

"I want you to know how proud I am of you, Maya. For standing strong all on your own. Mom and dad would be proud too, I know they would be. So... Hold your head up high. Because you're an amazing girl. You're the best sister I could ever ask for." He was able to fight back his own tears as he spoke.

"An you're the best brother I could ever ask for... And I'm so sorry..." Maya mumbled as her face was buried in his shoulder. Slowly, he pulled away from her, and stepped away.

"G-Go... Please," he pleaded one last time, looking at her worriedly. She wiped away tears, and took a few steps back.

"I love you bro!" She said quickly, before turning and running away with a sob, her emotions getting the better of her as she fled, ginger hair flowing out behind her like a cloak of her own. Jarrod stood and watched until the lioness was but a small orange speck in the distance, before turning and walking back to the temple, silent, and alone once again. Once inside the temple, he arrived to see the general Scorch waiting for him.

"My king, where is the lioness?" He asked curiously. Jarrod bit his lip. Time to do a little imitation.

"The damn girl got away. She winded me while fighting and ran for the entrance. I ran after her but she got away by the skin of her teeth." He growled ferociously. "Why did all of you think it was fine to guard the Masters?! Why did one of you not think to protect the entrance?!"

"I apologise my king. I can go after her, if you wish?"

"Don't bother. She's served her purpose. I have seen how powerful she is. You and the other generals seem to be the only ones who seem capable of taking her down. The next time she is in battle, fight her."

Scorch nodded and laughed evilly. "Yes my king. Nobody will stand in our way. This world will be ours one way or another!"

* * *

Maya gasped for breath as she ran down the dirt path her brother told her about. It had began to rain during her way back from the temple, and she swore that she had been running for ages now. It certainly felt like ages. Her clothes stuck to her, she was cold, and she was hungry and thirsty. She partially regretted not staying as Dai Shi's captive, so she could have gotten SOMETHING to eat.

Worn out, she stopped running, and leant on a tree to catch her breath. "Either this path is freaking long, or I'm less fit than I originally thought I was!" Muttered Maya as she attempted to regain her breath and stop her body from aching. Her arm was still in agony from being thrown against the wall. She was still sure it wasn't broken, but it was certainly damaged, and running was definitely not helping at all. She expected the path to be long, since it was from a temple in the middle of a forest to a city, but she could have sworn she had been running for at least an hour, maybe even longer. She wanted to give in, to collapse into a pile and sleep under a tree. But she had to get back to the rangers. She had to tell them about everything, tell them about the masters and what happened. But she wouldn't tell them about her arm. Even if it hurt, they couldn't know how weak she was. While Maya did trust Dominic's new friends, there was a voice in her head that told her they would laugh at her if she was weaker than she seemed. She was the tough, powerful, mighty Maya, who wouldn't be defeated by anyone or anything. Nobody could see her as weak. If they did, they might hurt her, deem her useless, throw her aside... She'd be forgotten and left alone to fend for herself...

With a sigh, Maya stood up straight again, and kept running down the path in the heavy rain. Further away from her brother. She hated having to abandon him like this, but if it was what he wanted, she would accept it. He was all she had left after all. She wouldn't want to hurt him again. She already did enough damage by leaving him and going to Japan. Even if he forgave her... She couldn't forgive herself.

When their parents were presumed dead when they were little, Maya remembered the days being dark and long for a while afterwards. The bullies certainly didn't help either. She couldn't remember how long they were there for, but she did remember the torment. Sometimes it was small things like pulling hair, taking away chairs, name calling. Other times it was big things like bloody noses, black eyes, bruises, cuts, broken bones even. She had been beaten up a lot by people in her life. She had lost consciousness more times than she cared to admit because someone knocked her out. But one time Maya remembered the clearest, was also the worst...

And it happened to Jarrod.

She remembered it to be a sunny day, nice and warm. It was what caused Master Mao to contact the two kids and offer them a place at Pai Zhua. 9 year old Jarrod was going to be doing an hour of extra work with the help of his teacher, so he could improve and get a better test score. Maya was going home right away to get neighbors to sponsor her for a run she was partaking in to help the city's library which was, at the time, having some troubles. After spending half an hour of getting sponsors, she went home and got on with some homework, before doing some reading. Maya had always enjoyed a good book, even as an adult she loved to read, though back then her books were more fantasy, magic and mysticism. Things she always dreamed existed.

Maya stopped in the rain as she remembered how after finishing a third chapter, the doorbell rang. It was her brother's teacher. Jarrod had been in a fight, and was badly injured. After the teacher drove her to the hospital, she got to be by his side almost immediately. She remembered seeing him out cold, pale skinned, and wounded. His nose bled crimson blood that matched the blood that ran from cuts across his arms and ran down his head from a nasty blow that left him completely unconscious. His left arm had been bent into a horrible angle that was certainly wasn't normal. And he was bruised across his entire body, including his stomach, chest and badly bent arm.

Tears began to trickle down Maya's face as the horrible image of her injured brother came to her mind. All the bullies had ganged up on him that day, and had beaten him almost senseless. He couldn't use his left arm for a while, as it was broken, and he took his time to wake up from being viciously knocked out. While the culprits were taken care of, Maya was still angry. Their words and actions were still there, in the very back of her mind, and every time she remembered them, her wall shattered a little, revealing her fragile centre to anyone willing to care.

Maya hated being weak. She vowed that day to never be weak, so she could protect her brother from any bullies. It was much easier said than done for a 9 year old who at the time had so little ego from how others treated her, but with enough determination, and with help from Master Mao, who had been the one to find Jarrod and alert a teacher to call the hospital, she had got there. Pai Zhua gave her and her brother safety, confidence, and happiness. It was their home, their safe place from the outside world that treated them so badly.

But now... She had nothing. No safety. No brother. No happiness or confidence. She was alone, in the cold rain, trembling and afraid.

She gave up. With a whine, she curled up under a tree and tried to rest, using her leather jacket as a pillow. Her shirt was now muddy as well as drenched, along with her trousers. Her hair clung to her face and dripped more water down her back. Every part of her was aching once again, and her arm continued to hurt. Despite all this, she curled up as much as possible, and fell asleep under the tree, the rain still pouring, and the terrible images and thoughts still haunting her brain as she rested, like almost every night. She didn't care if she caught hypothermia. Maybe it would be for the best.

Behind a tree, a woman with bandages watched as the lioness was picked up by an orange spirit, before being teleported away.


	6. Chapter 5 - Silence

Everyone froze the moment Master Mao appeared within the loft. Any action or talk ceased when the dead master formed, with an unconscious and soaking wet Maya in his arms, still cold from being in the rain, clothes clinging to her shivering body. In those few brief moments, time seemed to stand still, as if the world was on pause. Then the world was unpaused, and thrown into fast forward. Dominic was the first to his feet, as he rushed over with a panicked expression on his face. He had been worried ever since they all realised Maya had disappeared just like the Masters had, and while everyone else was ready for bed to try and sleep away the worries they had, Dominic refused, wanting to go out and find Maya so he knew she was safe.

Casey and Lily followed behind Dominic as he bolted over, shocked to see the lioness in such a weak and fragile state. She looked so helpless, like if they so much as touched her she would break like a vase. Her pale China doll-esque skin was now paler than usual, lacking a lot of colour. If it wasn't for her chest gently moving up and down as she breathed, they would have assumed her to be dead given how lifeless she looked.

"Oh my god! What the heck happened to her?!" Dom asked frantically, looking at Master Mao with wide eyes.

"She was in the forest, near Dai Shi's temple. I do not know why she was there, but she suddenly seemed to stop running and curled up under a tree in the rain. I decided then was the right time to intervene and get her to safety, since she seemed incapable of going any further on her own." Master Mao spoke in a calm voice, although he too looked worried about Maya's health.

"Let's get her to her hammock! So she can warm up!" Casey said firmly.

Lily nodded her head in agreement. "I'll take her and change her into some other clothes."

RJ stood up from his chair. "I'll go downstairs and microwave her some hot chicken noodles for when she wakes up."

"I'll go and get her some towels to help dry her off with," Theo added.

"And since I don't think there's anything else I can do, I'll go grab some extra blankets and stuff so she can be a bit warmer," stated Dominic, still abnormally serious.

"You will take care of her well, I trust," Master Mao said seriously.

"Of course we will Master. She's our friend!" Dom responded, almost shocked that Master Mao would say that knowing fully well that at least Dominic cared a lot about Maya and her wellbeing. Then again, when the rhino warrior thought about it, Master Mao had always cared about Maya just like he did for all his other students. He was always there for the lioness like a father, just like he was there for her brother and for the others who he taught.

Master Mao nodded in approval, and carefully handed Maya over to Lily, who was able to just barely hold onto Maya and keep her from falling over. "Alright. Do be gentle, her arm may be badly damaged. And... Stay strong. The road ahead will be long and dangerous for all of you. But I believe you will all be able to succeed in defeating the Dai Shi and his army."

"Thank you Master!" Casey said with some relief, glad the master had faith in him and the others. Mao smiled at the group, and with that, he disappeared back to the spirit world. "Okay team, let's get to work quickly!"

Everyone sprung into action immediately, each doing the job they said they would do. RJ ran downstairs, with Casey following behind him, Dominic and Theo going to get towels and blankets, and Lily taking the still unconscious Maya to her hammock. They had found one on her first night there. They had also put on some black curtains around her hammock, giving her a little area of the loft that was her own private place, her own little escape. Maya had been very appreciative, thanking them all for being so hospitable. 'Maya had settled in shockingly fast,' the cheetah thought as she carefully laid her ally into her hammock. 'Such a shame that on her second day back in Ocean Bluff, she's already been hurt...'

Lily carefully removed each piece of Maya's rains-soaked clothing, and waited for Theo to return with the towels, before shooing him away so he wouldn't see Maya indecent. She promptly got to work, carefully drying Maya's body and hair with the towels, before dressing her in her PJs once she was happy with how dry Maya's still cold body was. 'Jeez, she really isn't in a good condition... What the hell even happened to her?' Lily continued to think.

 _Can't we just storm Dai Shi's temple?_

The yellow ranger took a deep breath and looked at Maya. "Did... Did you really go to Dai Shi's temple? To get the crystal eyes?" She muttered quietly. "Or maybe... Did you go to get him? Jarrod?"

Lily had never been entirely close to Jarrod. At first, when they were put in the same class two years ago, he was a nice guy to both her and Theo. He held open doors, he was helpful, he complimented them, he was a gentleman. And yet Lily noticed that something wasn't right with the lion warrior. His smiles seemed fake sometimes, on occasions his eyes would be a little red like he had been crying (although he always said he had hayfever of some sort that made his eyes water), and sometimes he would space out, ignore orders or blank out during a conversation. Things weren't quite as they seemed with Jarrod, but Lily never asked, she didn't want to be rude, or accidentally bring up something painful.

But as time went by, Jarrod began to change. He would talk less, and when he was, he wouldn't be all that nice. He became arrogant, he began beating people in sparring matches with dirty tricks that ensured his victory, he only cared about himself, and nobody else at the academy. In two years, he had become a bully, finding fun in harming the weak with his foul language and nasty threats. Lily and Theo learnt to stay away from him if it meant they wouldn't be hurt by him. He was scary. Nobody could or would snitch on him, their lives would probably be at stake if they dared to.

' _Now that we know about Maya... His behaviour makes sense._..' Lily thought, still looking at Maya, a sad expression on her face. ' _He was just lonely. He missed his sister.'_ Slowly, Lily held Maya's cold, pale hand, silent.

"Is it okay for me to come in Lily?" Dom asked from behind the curtains.

"Yea, she's dressed. Come on in." Dominic opened the curtains and walked into Maya's mini bedroom, carrying a bunch of blankets of varying colours.

"I got quite a few. Don't want her to get too hot, so I didn't bring all the blankets, but this should be enough to get her back to regular body temperature."

"Thanks Dom, you're a real gem. Here, lemme help." Lily smiled at Dom, who smiled back and gave some blankets to Lily. The two carefully laid the blankets onto Maya. "Where's Theo gone?"

"He's keeping an eye on the city surveillance system, just in case of anything popping up."

"Dai Shi ain't gonna start sending night attacks now, is he?"

"He probably isn't gonna send night attacks, he's using a human body so he will need to sleep, but hey, better safe than sorry right?"

"Yea, that's true I guess." Lily sighed a little as she folded up some blankets and carefully placed them under Maya's injured arm. "Hey Dom? You know Maya and Jarrod well, right?"

"Mhm, we arrived at the academy at the same time. Jarrod was my roommate, Maya was placed in a nearby girls dormitory. Why?"

"What was he like? I only knew him for about two years, and that was because we were put into the same classes after getting into the final 20."

The rhino ranger shrugged a little. "He was a nice guy, from what I remember. He and Maya did basically everything together. Training, meditating, they sat by each other at every meal, they always left their rooms for breakfast at the same time so they could walk together... They were real close. Jarrod said it was because she was all he had. The guy lost a lot to get to where he got to. So did Maya." Dom looked at the floor. "He also said he was happy to have me as a friend. That he and Maya weren't exactly popular when they were young. Maya was also so bubbly, so adventurous and eager to learn more. When Maya left, it was a blow to his heart. And then I left too." He sighed. "I can't imagine how Jarrod must have felt. He was left by a friend and his own sister. I mean, it was for the better, that's what Master Mao had said both times, but now... I'm not so sure to be honest."

The two stood in silence after Dominic was finished talking, with the only sound being RJ and Casey downstairs finishing the microwave noodles for Maya. Lily wasn't sure how to respond and Dominic wasn't sure if he should say anymore. The silence was awkward, but yet, with nothing else to say, they decided it was for the best to keep it this way until RJ and Casey came upstairs with the food for Maya. Maybe then they could figure out where to go from here.

* * *

Camille wandered down the corridor, towards the Masters, carrying two trays, one with two plates and another with just one. She had just got back from following Maya in time for the food to be finished cooking, and nobody had came looking for her, so it was as though she never left the temple. While she walked, she couldn't help but think. About Pai Zhua taking in a girl and her brother, and caring for the two who had no parents left. About Maya, when she had saved her from the rangers and returned her to the temple safely. This was all rather confusing for her now. Camille couldn't tell if Pai Zhua were as bad as Dai Shi said they were...

With a little sigh, she reached the cells, now with one more empty since Maya had not returned. The Masters had been resting since she took Maya to fight Dai Shi, and the phantom beasts had stopped guarding them in favour of guarding the throne room and coming up with backup plans should their current spirit ranger plan fail. She had to give them credit: they were certainly efficient and focused on the task at hand, as opposed to the overlords who didn't exactly help in any way, shape or form.

Gently, Camille kicked the door of Master Finn's cell with her heel to make him wake up, since she couldn't use her hands. "Hey... Shark master... Wake up." Master Finn groaned a little, and slowly woke up, sitting up. "Come to the door, and hold onto this tray. So I can unlock the door." He grumbled, but did as he was told, and came to the cell door. He held one of the trays by putting his hands through the gaps in the admittedly rather fancy door, and she reached for the keys. Carefully, she unlocked the door, put up the key, and then took the tray from him, before opening the door and handing him one of the plates. "This one is yours. For the record, none of the food is poisoned."

Master Finn raised an eyebrow. "And why wouldn't you poison us?"

Camille turned away, and grabbed the keys, locking the door. As she did so, she spoke. "Because it would be obvious that I did it. I'm the only one who can cook, or at least, was willing to cook for you masters." With only one tray of importance to hold, she made sure the cell door was locked before putting back the keys out of reach and moving on to Master Swoop's cell. Swoop was already standing, waiting, although he was still rather weak. She grabbed his cell keys, unlocked the door, handed him his plate of food, and then left and locked the door, before repeating the process with Phant, except she placed the plate on the floor since he was too weak and tired to get up and go to the door.

"So you only care about what would happen to you?" Master Finn said in a harsh tone. Camille locked Phant's cell door and walked back to Finn's, staring him down.

"Nobody else in this world cares. May as well look out for myself if nobody else is going to." She smirked. "But when you are all out of the way, and the beasts rule the world, I will rule this planet alongside Dai Shi."

"And why do you think he won't destroy you along with all the other humans?"

"Because he likes my human body. If he didn't, he would have simply told me. But he hasn't. He loves it. And who could blame him?" Camille giggled giddily. "Now, how about you shut up and eat your food, now you know I haven't poisoned it."

Master Finn muttered something under his breath, but sat himself down on the floor with his plate of food. Cautious, he took a small bite. She had made him some smoked salmon and pasta, and while it wasn't the most incredible combination ever, it was actually rather tasty and pretty darn good. He was surprised by this; she was actually a good cook. Camille herself stood and kept an eye on the Masters as they all ate, ensuring no escape attempts were made even if they were all still rather weak and tired out from the spirit ranger ordeal. All four of them were relatively silent, although Camille had a bit of a tendency to tap on things like the wall to keep herself occupied. It was tense silence, one which none were particularly fond of, but it wasn't like they could say anything to improve the situation. However, after finishing his food, Swoop decided enough was enough.

"Where is Maya?" Master Swoop asked as he stood up and walked to the door to hand his plate to Camille. The lizard lady sauntered over and unlocked the door for a brief moment as she took his plate, before locking it again.

"The lioness escaped. Your Master Mao found her. I watched him take her and leave while she was fleeing. Whether he has taken her to safety or not, I don't know," she spoke softly, almost hesitantly. This was certainly a contrast to her tone and voice when she spoke to Finn.

"He has taken her to safety. Mao would never harm Maya. He has always has a soft spot for her."

"Because she has no parents, correct?" When Swoop gave her a look of confusion, she shrugged a little. "She... She told me earlier, when she was alone. I brought her something to cover the scratches Master made on her cheek from when he struck her across the face. Didn't want it to get infected."

Silence came over the dungeon again. The masters all listened to her soft, almost gentle voice, both confused and interested. The silence this time wasn't awkward or tense, but almost one of hesitance, with the masters not too sure how to respond to Camille, and Camille herself with no clue if she should be saying any of this. She decided it was enough. Silently, the warrior went to the other two cells, unlocked the doors one at a time, took the empty plates, and left, locking the doors again. As she began to walk away, Master Phant spoke in a weak voice.

"Why did you show her kindness? Show her care?"

Camille turned around, and for a brief moment, flashed a small, warm smile. "I always pay my debts. She saved my life from your rangers. I owe her a lot."

She turned and walked away again, allowing the masters to process everything.

The dungeons are engulfed in silence yet again.

* * *

(Some time later...)

Dai Shi growled as he stormed towards his chamber, alone with only himself and Jarrod's voice in his head as company. "Damn that lioness, damn this human body..." He muttered angrily. He had swiftly taken back control of the vessel he was using as soon as he could. Almost surprisingly, the human had given it back quite willingly. He originally assumed it was because he was simply weak from fighting, but when he realised how he even lost control in the first place, the dragon spirit put together that Jarrod gave in because it was something to do with Maya. The lioness.

He opened the door to his chamber and went inside, slamming the door behind him. He couldn't understand. What was it about the vessel's sister that made the vessel so strong he could overpower the mighty Dai Shi? If she had been gone for so long, why didn't the vessel hate her? Why did he still love her?

It was times like this Dai Shi wished Camille was with him. As useless as his minion tended to be, she seemed to understand more about the humans than any other beast. She seemed to understand their emotions,their families, their wants and desires. Dai Shi only learnt so much from being in Jarrod's body, so it was nice to have another source of information for how the humans functioned and how they lived their lives. It was certainly intriguing to know how the humans had evolved and changed since ten thousand years ago.

As well as being knowledgeable, there was something... Attractive, about his loyal lizard, that he couldn't quite understand either. Dai Shi himself didn't care about her romantically, not anymore at least, so why was he...?

"Damn you Jarrod..."

 _ **You really DON'T understand humans do you?**_

"Why the hell would you care about that woman anyway? She's just another warrior... She'll be destroyed soon enough given how those pathetic rangers keep on defeating our soldiers."

 _ **Well you aren't exactly making a move on her are you? If we're going to be king of this world... Don't you think we need a queen?**_

Dai Shi paused for a moment. He wasn't wrong... It would be a lot of effort to rule the world on his own. He couldn't do it all by himself. Perhaps... It would be good to-

"No! I will not be fooled by your damn emotions Jarrod! And don't ever call us 'we', you know you'll be destroyed along with the rest of the humans when I take over the world. Don't even bother trying to convince me."

 _ **I don't care if I'm destroyed. But you lay a hand on Camille or Maya-**_

"The lioness will be destroyed along with the rangers! I will lay my hands on her as I see fit to! And as for Camille, she will be destroyed if I see it necessary!"

 _ **You must see it as necessary then. How many times have I had to save her now? Three? All because you wanted to just let her DIE?**_

He growled again and tensed up. "She failed to destroy the yellow ranger-"

 _ **Lily.**_

"-Whatever. She then failed to even try and fight back against Jellica-"

 _ **She had no chance at beating Jellica regardless if she tried.**_

"Shut up. And then when we were at that rhino nexus she didn't even have the common sense to stay close and avoid getting caught by the sand snakes the scroll warned about!"

 _ **You and I both know that those sand snakes move fast! She was staying close, they simply caught her off guard at the wrong time!**_

"SILENCE!" Roared the beast. "Stop making excuses for such a worthless woman you barely know!" He clutched his head in pain as the vessel began to shout back.

 _ **I WILL NOT BE SILENT! I will make every excuse for her that I have to! You haven't even come close to beating the rangers on your own! Yet you punish Camille whenever she fails! She's scrubbed those floors more times than I could care to count!**_

He roared again, falling to his knees as the pain grew stronger. It hurt Jarrod as well as Dai Shi, it was his body after all, but he didn't care. Jarrod didn't care about himself anymore, or his fate. But he was going to make damn sure that Camille got through this alive. After everything she had been through... She didn't deserve to die, or be treated like a slave. The last time she had been forced to clean all the floors, a mere two days before she was beaten up and bandaged, he remembered how rubbed raw her hands had become from both the work and the endless fighting she endured in order to stay alive. How a beast kicked the entire bucket of dirty water over, causing it all to spill onto the throne room floor and make her start over on that room, before she even moved onto the rest of the temple. How Dai Shi just watched from his throne as she dragged buckets back and fourth, scrubbing every speck of floor in the building just so dusty and/or dirty feet could storm through and ruin it all for her once again, so it would be filthy for her to clean the very next day if the evil dragon saw fit to make her clean the temple yet again. Which he usually did. Jarrod was sick of watching her now.

The first few times weren't bad, he was too occupied both with his own plans and thoughts and her attractiveness to care, but quickly noticed that every time she had to clean, she seemed to get more tired, more sloppy, more weak. Cleaning an entire temple at least one day a week to seven days in a row definitely had an effect on the chameleon woman.

 _*Knock Knock Knock*_

"My Lord? Are you there? Are you alright?!" A frantic female voice was what snapped Jarrod back to reality. But his head hurt so bad, all he could do was growl in response. She didn't seem to hear him. "That's it! I-I'm coming in then!" Much to his surprise, the door opened, and Camille walked in. She was no longer wearing her usual robes, but instead, she was in a knee length green cotton nightdress, with a little lace around the hem, and a little chameleon carefully sewn into the nightdress that sat just above her breasts. Her expression was that of panic, something which he hadn't seen often when it came to Camille.

As soon as she laid her eyes on him, she gasped, and was immediately by his side, kneeling next to him on the floor. "Master, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Jarrod growled again in response. "My head..."

"Is it hurting again? Y-You really haven't been sleeping that well, have you? I knew this whole 'phantom-beast-and-spirit-ranger' ordeal would make you restless..." Camille sighed softly. "Alright. Get up, and get dressed for bed. I'm helping you get to sleep so this headache goes away."

His head jerked up and he looked at her with surprise. She was actually giving him orders. Her of all people, the one he seemed to scare the most and rule over with threats of death and empty promises of love and admiration... Was giving HIM orders. Then again, he wasn't in a position to complain...

The lion warrior nodded a little and slowly got up. Camille got him to change out of his armour into some pyjamas, which once again he complied with, and while he changed his clothes, she began to make him a hot drink, of what he assumed to be tea given the bag she put into the black mug. He watched her a little as he got dressed into his PJs. She hummed softly to herself as she went in and out of the room to get milk and hot water, all the things which were needed for the tea that weren't in his chamber. She didn't look unhappy in the slightest as she made him a nice soothing drink to help him settle down and rest. By the time he was finished, now in a faded black t-shirt and shorts, Camille had finished his drink, and carefully she gave it to him once he was sat down on his bed. It was quite nice actually, to hold the nice warm mug in his hands. He didn't realise how cold he had been up until now. With a small smile, she sat down beside him. "You better drink it while it's still warm," she encouraged, "cold tea isn't very nice." Not saying anything, he sipped a little. The tea was... Actually good. It wasn't sugary, but it was really nice without it oddly enough.

"It's... It's nice," he confessed, earning a bright smile from Camille.

"Glad you like it."

The two of them sat in silence as he slowly drank his cup of tea, neither him nor her sure on what to say to the other. For once, Jarrod was speechless, unable to think of anything he could say to the woman sat beside him. He could say she looked nice, but... _'She'll just be creeped out by me.'_ So the silence continued, as she fiddled with a strand of her hair and he drank his tea. This was the most awkward silence either of them had ever been in.

By the time he had finished his drink, Camille couldn't take the silence anymore. There was something she wanted to ask. It was a big risk for her, but... She decided in that silence that it was worth a try. "S-So... Do you... Want me to stay with you tonight? To help you sleep?" Almost immediately, she blushed brightly, and quickly looked away so she didn't have to make eye contact with him. Once again, Jarrod was surprised, and it was his turn to go rather pink as he blushed. This came completely out of nowhere, but then again, she did make a comment on how attractive he was when he first arrived at the temple... Did she fancy him? Or... Was it only Dai Shi who she cared for? He wasn't sure anymore.

"A-Alright," he stammered, "I-If you think it will help... Then I suppose there's no harm in you s-staying here." She turned back to him, eyes wide a little, still blushing. She seemed surprised, but... Then she smiled brightly again, and the tension seemed to almost melt away as she got up, blew out all but one candle, leaving only his bedside candle emitting a gentle light, and then returned to the bed ready to sleep. While she blew out the candles in his room, he carefully put his mug on his bedside table, just beside the lamp, and laid down on his large double bed. He had to admit, the bed was certainly very comfortable, MUCH better than the one he had slept on at Pai Zhua. But he always felt... Lonely. He used to be such a big guy in a small room with other roommates and his sister just across the corridor from him. Now, he felt so small in this giant, empty room.

But it wasn't empty anymore. Camille gently laid herself down next to him on the bed, and she unsubtly snuggled up close, resting her bandaged head on a pillow just next to him. He turned onto his side, and there she lay, so close to him that she could feel his warm breath a little. The lion warrior couldn't help but smile at her now, and he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Her body was so small compared to him, compared to any of the rangers whom they have fought... He felt a pang of pain as he imagined her poor, small body being thrown into a tree by the wolf master after being pummeled so badly those few nights ago. Trying to avert his thoughts, he opted to rest his chin on a safe, non-bandaged part of her head. The lack of lit candles certainly seemed to help deal with his headache, but it was as though Camille herself was like medicine, healing the pain and making everything better.

"Goodnight Master," she murmured, her own head resting on his shoulder as well as the pillows.

He gently kissed her forehead. "Goodnight Camille." He pulled the duvet over them, and slowly closed his eyes, starting to drift off to sleep. ' _I won't let you get hurt anymore... I promise you that, Camille,'_ he thought as he slowly fell asleep.

His headache was gone by the morning, when rays of sun seeped through the crack in his curtains, and shone down on the lion warrior and the chameleon warrior, snuggled close and holding each other, not wanting to ever let go.


	7. Chapter 6 - Talking

"Thanks for the food guys," Maya said weakly as she sat in her hammock after finishing some pancakes. She had woken up late at night, and the sleep-deprived rangers were relieved to say the least when her eyes opened. The noodles RJ had done had to be microwaved a few times while they waited for Maya to wake up, but the hungry lioness didn't care about that and ate them as fast as her weakened state allowed her. Now it was 9am in the morning, and Maya was once again eating to regain some more strength. Her body was still recovering from the freezing cold rainy conditions she had been running in the precious day, along with the big fight with Dai Shi which, RJ confirmed, had damaged her arm so much so it required a bandage. It wasn't ripped clean out of it's socket, nor was it broken, but it was definitely not good to be fighting with. As much as Maya hated it, she would have to sit on the sidelines for now until RJ gave her the all clear.

Dominic smiled at his friend. He was relieved to see her safe. "Hey, no problem. Just looking out for you. But seriously, what happened? Can you give us some details? Cuz to us, you just sorta disappeared from existence and then suddenly Master Mao appeared holding you."

'So it was him who brought me here? Heh... Even when the guy is dead he's still babysitting me isn't he?" Maya laughed a little, remembering how Master Mao used to constantly keep one eye on her to make sure she wasn't getting herself into danger and/or trouble. No kid was quite as trouble-inducing as the lioness. "I'm not surprised. But anyway... I was taking Gabby to her dance competition, since Lily wasn't there. I remember walking back, and then suddenly getting grabbed, kicked in the back of the leg when I screamed, and rendered incapable of moving or fighting back."

"I'm guessing given the current situation... It was one of those phantom beasts," Lily sighed.

Maya tilted her head a little. "Wait, you know about them?"

"Let's just say we had a close encounter with the phantom kind..." Answered RJ, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "We got into a fight with one of them, and when we were close to beating it, another one came outta nowhere, knocked us all flying, and then I'm guessing they left because they sure as hell weren't there when Dominic checked back there."

"Ah, makes sense then. I think by that point I was meditating in the dungeons of Dai Shi's temple. I was alone there for some time." The lioness warrior flicked some hair out of her face. 'I definitely needed a hot bath at some point in the next day or two,' she thought in her head as she did so. "There is something else you need to know. I wasn't the only one at the temple who had been captured... The other three masters were there too."

Theo nodded. "We figured that out. When I went to go find Master Swoop, he was gone, still wasn't there when I checked back at his home after the fight with the phantom beasts went horribly wrong. When RJ checked on his dad, he was gone, and Lily witnessed Master Phant's kidnapping first hand. This just confirms that Dai Shi has his hands on them..."

"And this also confirms those Spirit Rangers we fought and lost to are definitely connected to the Masters, that it isn't just their animal spirits being pulled out their body and used against their will," concluded Casey with a dissatisfied groan.

"So that's why the Masters looked exhausted when they were brought down into the dungeon!" Maya gasped. She had began putting the pieces together in her head. Now everything made sense to her.

RJ decided to get some more information. He was worried about his father. "What happened after that? After they were put into the dungeon with you?"

"Well, we were all talking for a bit, I made sure all three of them were okay, and then at some point, Camille came and got me. She took me upstairs to fight Dai Shi on his request. She convinced him that humans get cramps if they do activities like running, fighting or swimming straight after eating. That's kinda when I twigged that he was gonna kick my lion tail across the temple. And I was right. I thought I beat him, but of course short battles are never a good sign, and he sent me flying into the wall with this really powerful blast of dark magic. That's what damaged my shoulder and arm. I... I thought I had improved. I thought I was stronger. I guess not."

"Well you were able to counter the Claw Cannon, the Super Blade AND the Wolf Beam when you first appeared and saved Camille's life. I''d say that's certainly an improvement, considering when we were still all at the academy you could barely hold your own whenever someone released their animal spirit on you." The rhino ranger grinned at his friend, who smiled a little, but not much.

"If it makes you feel any better, Dai Shi gave me a bit of a beating too," said RJ, attempting to make her feel a bit better.

"Yea, I know. Jarrod told me." Everyone immediately looked at her in shock. Maya raised an eyebrow. "Couldn't really believe it myself. Still in there. Still fighting. Dai Shi was about to finish me with the lion spirit, the spirit stopped, and nuzzled me. My own seemed to appear in the process, she wrapped herself around me to take any hits. When that didn't work, Dai Shi grabbed me, was about to blast me, but then stopped and dropped to his knees holding his head. I hugged him, and then he said that he was sorry. Now tell me: would Dai Shi, king of the beasts, say sorry to someone who he ordered his underlings to capture? Who he wanted to fight to see how strong their spirit is? No, I don't think so."

Theo shook his head. "I don't know if you know this Maya, but Jarrod wasn't exactly the nicest guy in these past two or so years. He was a bully. A rude, inconsiderate guy. It was him to released Dai Shi and killed Master Mao!"

"And you think he doesn't feel bad about his actions? You don't think a guy who's parents went missing and were presumed dead wouldn't have some issues? Wouldn't try to seem okay when inside he felt like the worst person alive?" She retaliated, growling a little and forcing her body to sit bolt upright, ready to pounce. Dominic put a hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner.

"Easy there lioness, don't get angry at Theo again. Poor guy doesn't deserve getting his face clawed. Save your energy for the beasts, okay?" Maya growled again, but she did as she was told, and settled back down in her hammock. Her arm and shoulder were hurting again from moving too suddenly. She flicked some hair of her eyes once again. "Thank you. Now can you tell us the rest?"

"Okay. I comforted Jarrod and spoke to him. He blames himself for all of this. I tried convincing him otherwise, but not much luck there. He told me after a bit that I had to escape, and that he'd help me. I wanted to teleport, but either the fight took more out of me than I thought or Scorch stole a lot of my power and prevented me from teleporting out of the temple. So we had to walk. We avoided the footsoldiers, made some small talk, and arrived at the entrance, where he told me to follow the dirt path to Ocean Bluff. We said goodbye, and then I started running back."

"Explains where Master Mao found you then," Lily muttered thoughtfully, before raising her voice. "What about Phant, Swoop and Finn?"

With a sigh, Maya shook her head a little. "Couldn't save them. Phantom beasts were guarding them. If Jarrod went it would give too much of the game away, if I went I'd get destroyed."

"Its okay Maya,' Casey assured, "you had the right idea to back down. Those guys are real trouble. You wouldn't stand a chance. No offence of course."

"Non taken tiger-boy. I may be reckless sometimes... Okay, most of the time. But going from a battle where it felt like I had pulled something to the point where it felt like I had been shot or stabbed, to another battle which would probably involve being thrown into more walls and destroying more muscle and/or bone is certainly not a good idea, and even I can see that. Anyway, I told you everything I know. Phantom beasts are still around, Masters still under Dai Shi's possession, and an ex-student fighting back against the dragon spirit that inhabits his body and controls him like a meat-puppet. Now, what happened with you guys while I was gone?"

"Aside from the issues we've had with the Spirit Rangers and Phantom Beasts, not much," RJ answered.

"Ah, actually... Kinda forgot to mention. My brother, he wants to come and visit. Sent the message yesterday afternoon after we fought the Spirit Rangers," Theo interrupted, looking a bit nervous and awkward, "so just a heads up, he might just... Appear. He has a tendency to do that."

Dominic chuckled. "This is turning out to be quite the interesting week."

* * *

Dai Shi woke up in bed to the smell of something cooking. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and yawned a little, before stretching and looking to see what was causing the scent. It was Camille, cooking what looked like some bacon and pancakes. Her bandages were in a small, slightly bloody heap next to the water basin he had in his room. She didn't have any on, not even fresh ones. She was also still in her PJs, which he wasn't exactly complaining about. "Making breakfast?" He asked, having to clear his throat a little.

Camille looked up at him, and she smiled. "Correct. Did you sleep well?"

He didn't have to think about an answer to that. "Yes, I did. Though I'm still confused as to why you decided to stay and sleep in my bed. How did that help?"

She simply shrugged and continued cooking. "Sometimes companionship is the best medicine. Just ask Flit. I'm used to having relatively rough nights and/or insomnia. Flit always knows. He often talks to me a bit and helps me drift off, then falls asleep on the pillow right beside me."

"Doesn't he need to-"

"Yes, he does. But curses weaken, that and I decided to be a bit generous to the little guy, and now he can freely fly about the temple, or at least my bedroom, without fear of fading away. It's a win-win situation. He gets some more freedom, and my throat can stop feeling like sandpaper," she answered with a soft chuckle as she finished the last pancake, placing it on the one plate out of the two which had only two pancakes while the other had three. When done with the last pancake, she served up the bacon too, before turning everything off and bringing him his plate. "Here you go! Breakfast in bed! Fit for a king!" Camille announced with a grin on her face, giving him his plate of a delicious looking breakfast before sitting down beside him on the bed with her own plate.

Dai Shi mumbled a thank you and tucked in. Camille had always been a good chef, for as long as he remembered she enjoyed making lovely dishes of human food. The beasts didn't have to eat human food to survive, fear was both a power source and nourishment for them, but some did enjoy the smell and taste of human meals and drinks. Dai Shi, after tasting some of Camille's cooking when he returned to the temple, had certainly begun to enjoy it, and it only made Jarrod fall for the chameleon woman more.

Camille began to eat as well, enjoying her breakfast. In between mouthfuls, she and him began to talk. "So, what are the plans today? The usual?" She questioned.

"I think we should get the generals send another one of their beasts and see if they can successfully take down the rangers. Alternatively we still have those Pai Zhua masters we can use, although I don't know if they're still recovering as Scorch said they have to if they are to be used again."

"I imagine they will fully recover at some point during the day, so yes, we can use them again if we need to Master."

Unable to think of much more to say on the matter, Camille continued to eat her breakfast, rather hungry. However, while the topic of fighting the rangers had ran dry, as it tended to nowadays, Dai Shi had something else he wanted to ask his partner in crime. Something that was causing him to worry a little. "Why have you taken off your bandages? Do you not need them anymore?"

"Well I'm no longer bleeding, so I'd say so. They're an annoyance anyway, I'm better off without them," Camille said determinedly, looking firm and confident in her choice. But Dai Shi shook his head.

"You should keep them on, just a bit longer. Just to be certain that they'll heal and not bleed anymore," he advised, with a rather worried expression upon his face. He had stopped eating, and was looking directly at her, concerned. "At least get the approval of Owlchemy before you go ahead and charge into battle without your wounds fully healed... Please?"

Her heart began to beat faster in her chest, and Camille blushed pink as she gazed at him. "... Alright. I'll see if its alright for me to keep the bandages off."

Jarrod smiled at her, relieved. Letting his guard down around her was both a blessing and a curse, because it made him weak, but he didn't mind that around her. The only other person he let his guard down for was his sister, he hadn't trusted anyone this much in a long time. "Good idea. Now, let's finish eating and go see what the Generals are up to. I do not like leaving them alone for a long period of time. Makes me think they're doing something behind my back. Then we will put a plan into action, to take down the rangers and Pai Zhua."

"Yes Master."

* * *

Maya walked down the stairs slowly, holding onto the banister with a tight grip so she could recover if her legs gave way. She had been able to get dressed into some leggings and a T-shirt, but she was still weak. She hadn't fully recovered yet, far from it, but she felt lonely up in the loft while everyone worked in the restaurant. Even if she was just helping with the dough, she wanted to be useful. However, something else had also enticed her downstairs; there was the lovely sound of a guitar playing from somewhere in the building, and she had decided to investigate and see who was playing it. As she walked through the door to the restaurant from the kitchen, she saw the large crowd in the corner, where the guitar player was obviously sat. Curious, she slowly inched closer, interested, and saw Theo, playing the guitar with a grin on his face. She was rather surprised by this, not because of who was playing the guitar, but because of who was walking through the door with RJ, dressed in blue. Theo!

"That must be Theo's brother he warned us about earlier who's playing guitar..." She muttered to herself, a small smile appearing on her face as she saw Theo walk to a point where he could see through the crowd, nearby her. His expression changed into one of confusion, and then of annoyance as his brother finished playing guitar. Everyone applauded him, and his grin widened. He looked so happy playing and pleasing the crowd of customers and employees.

Suddenly, she felt a nudge from someone next to her, and turned to see that Theo and RJ had noticed her there and came over. "Shouldn't you be resting upstairs Maya?" Asked Theo, concerned. She shrugged at him as best as she could with her injury.

"It got lonely up there on my own. Is that your brother over there with the guitar?"

Before Theo could answer, Lily came rushing up to him with a smile on her face. "Theo! You never told us you had a TWIN brother!" She exclaimed excitedly to her friend. Before Theo could respond to her too, FRAN had came over to the group looking pretty happy too.

"Wow Theo, your brother is amazing! He was telling us these great stories, like the one where he went skydiving and his parachute didn't open at first, and the time when he went diving and saw a shark and the time-!"

"Fran, breathe, please," Theo interrupted, a look of exhaustion on his face.

The bookworm took a breath, and then exhaled. Sorry, sorry... He was just telling us about all these really exciting trips he's been on, kinda like those you get in books!"

"Yea... He's a real thrillseeker isn't he?" Was the only response Fran got from the blue ranger, and with a sympathetic smile, she headed off to go take care of some food and drink orders, dragging Lily away with her so Theo could have some time to talk with his brother, with Maya awkwardly hovering beside him. Luen smirked and looked at Maya.

"So, who's this lovely lady? Is she your date?" He asked with a mischievous look on his face.

"What?! Nonononono, she is not my date thank you very much! She's a work colleague of mine!" Theo spluttered, embarrassed by his brother and his question. Maya was also rather embarrassed by the question, and blushed a little.

Luen's cheeky expression changed into a warm smile. "Sorry, I was just curious. She doesn't seem like your type anyway Theo. Too tall and loud. No offence to her, of course. Though if she's your work colleague, why is she dressed so casually? Doesn't seem like work clothes to me bro."

Theo groaned. "That's because she's taking a break Luen. She's injured her arm and needs a bit of time to relax."

"Well if you want, I can help out! Then we can catch up afterwards!" Luen gushed, a smile still plastered on his face. "Come on, show me around! Where's the kitchen so we can get to work right away?"

The jaguar warrior sighed, and took his brother into the kitchen, bringing Maya along with them. "This is the kitchen, Luen. Upstairs is the loft, that's for employees only. Stay here while I go get dressed into my work clothes, and don't touch anything. If Maya collapses, shout for me." Theo headed up into the loft quickly, hearing the disgruntled sound of the lioness behind him saying "I'll be fine Theo!" In an unhappy tone. He didn't want to deal with her as well as his brother, that was double the trouble/annoyance, which he certainly wouldn't be able to cope with. He and Maya were still on rough terms, since the Phantom Beasts and capture of the Masters and Maya herself meant that personal issues had to be left on standby as they all focused on the problems that faced them. They hadn't had a proper heart-to-heart talk yet since Maya's return, and as a result things were still uncomfortable between the jaguar and lioness.

Luen chuckled a little. "Is he always like this with you?"

Maya rolled her eyes and nodded with a sigh. "Not just him, everyone else. They think that just because I'm weak I can't take care of myself. But I can, they just don't realise it yet."

"What even happened that made you sick?"

She paused. Maya assumed that Luen knew that Theo went to the Pai Zhua Academy, but the whole Power Ranger thing... Maybe not. She decided that he shouldn't find out just yet, not without the other rangers' permission. "I went out for a run, and I lost my way. It began to rain, and I got really cold. When I returned after a few hours, I collapsed. Everyone has been babying me and being overprotective ever since then."

"Well if you collapsed the moment you entered the building, I'd say they have a reason to be worried and protective of you. Friends look out for friends, just like family looks out for family. Gotta help each other out, ya know?" He said cheerfully.

Maya nodded, remembering her brother and how he helped free her from the temple the day before. "Yea, you got a point. Y'know, I have a twin too. We aren't identical though like you and Theo. He's a really great guy."

"Does he work here too?" Luen asked, tilting his head like how a dog does when they look up at you. Maya bit her lip, and shook her head, not saying anything. She wasn't sure what to say to him about Jarrod; but thankfully, she didn't have to, as Theo came downstairs at the moment, still looking a bit sour and exhausted, and Casey came through from the restaurant, a happy smile on his face like usual.

"Hope you aren't bugging Maya too much Luen," Theo interrupted, glaring a little at his twin brother.

The lioness warrior smiled a little. "Don't sorry Theo, he's not being a pain. He was just asking some questions."

Casey tapped Maya and Theo on the shoulders, making Maya jump a little. "Well before he asks anymore, we got an order, a large top-seller please Theo. And Maya, you should probably go upstairs and rest."

"Nope, I'm not going anywhere. If I get tired I'll sleep on the stairs or on the floor. Or standing up, whatever works," Maya said with as much confidence as she could muster. Casey sighed and shook his head, but he decided that now wasn't the time to make a scene and cause a shouting match between him and Maya; he had a hunch she would win anyway.

"Alright, if you say so. But please be careful, alright? And stay here with Theo and Luen so they can keep an eye on you, please?" He insisted, turning her around and looking at her right in the eyes so she got the message that he meant business. She nodded, and with some reluctance, the red ranger went back into the restaurant, leaving the lioness with the blue ranger and his energetic twin. Theo had already gotten to work on the order while she and Casey were chatting, and was putting on the toppings already. Maya would have been surprised by this, but she assumed from the start that someone like him was a fast and efficient worker, and from what she had seen of him working in the past two or so days, she was right.

Theo finished putting on the toppings after a few more minutes, and smiled triumphantly. "And there you have it! RJ created it, and go figure, it's our top seller!" He announced happily, "Everyone likes this pizza, and it is pretty good to be fair."

"It kinda reminds me of my trip to India, actually," Luen recalled. 'Except... Pretty sure it needs some garlic. Here!" He threw the garlic over to Theo, who was prepping the oven. Frantically, Theo tried to grab it, but thankfully Maya caught it for him, and put it down on the table.

"No garlic. Keep the recipe how it is, okay?" She explained, trying to not be too harsh on Theo's twin.

He got the message by the way she spoke. "Okay, got it, sorry... Is this really all you've been doing since I last saw you? Kung Fu training and making pizzas? Not exactly what I'd call fun, Theo."

"Oh, and why's that? You'd rather me waste my time doing the things you do? Diving, swimming with sharks, jumping from planes and helicopters, going to see volcanoes? And then blatantly exaggerating the stories whenever you tell them?" Theo resorted, anger in his tone and an icy glare directed right at Luen.

"Woah woah woah, so you think that I am wasting MY time? Come on bro, you're the one doing Kung Fu tricks and flipping pizzas. You'd definitely have to exaggerate to make that sound exciting to people. Exaggerating or not, my stories put everyone on the edge of their seat!" Snapped Luen, equally as angry. The brothers stood and stared each other down, both of them irritated by the other. Maya decided quickly to intervene in hopes of sorting things out, but before she could, Theo walked around his brother, and to the cooler to get some flour. At first, she thought he was just going to ignore his brother and continue with work, but she was wrong when she heard Theo start to rant, before turning around and accidentally spilling flour onto Luen's shirt. She could see the annoyance and anger on Luen's face, and began to walk over to help, but was stopped by Luen who put his hand out to stop her. "Don't worry Maya. I'm okay. I'm just... Gonna need a new shirt." She quickly directed him up into the loft so he could put on one of Theo's shirts.

The blue ranger sighed, and carefully put the bowl of flour down on the table, before putting his head in his hands. "This is all my fault..." He muttered, now struck with guilt. Gently, Maya rested a hand on his shoulder, and decided to speak to him. Whether he wanted her help or not, she wanted to stop the awkwardness between herself and Theo, and she wanted to help him with his weak relationship with his brother. She knew it wouldn't be easy, but she was willing to at least try.

"Do you... Want to talk about it? Will that help?"


	8. Chapter 7 - Together

"Hey, anyone heard from Dominic at all? He got sent to deliver a pizza and they haven't got it yet," asked Casey, as he hung up the phone and closed the pizza oven. Fran had given him several orders to do and he had only just finished them, when the phone rang with the complaint from a customer saying they hadn't got their pizza yet.

"Knowing him, he's probably eaten it and fallen asleep!" Giggled Fran, smiling. "Speaking of people, where's Theo? Last time I saw him he was in the kitchen with Luen and Maya. Did something happen?"

RJ came downstairs at that moment and answered their question. "Most likely. Theo came upstairs to get changed out of his work clothes, then just sorta lounged up there. He looks pretty down, and he didn't answer my questions, so he's probably had a falling out with Luen or Maya. I know Luen went with Lily to go get some more groceries, and Maya seems to have... Fallen off the face of the earth. I haven't seen her at all."

"Maybe she went outside to get some fresh air, or perhaps she's gone for a walk? She seems determined to continue things as normal," Casey theorized, taking off his apron and pulling on his red ranger jacket. "We should probably find Dominic first anyway, don't want an unhappy customer. Maya will be okay, something tells me she won't wander off and end up halfway across the city."

"Good idea," RJ agreed, "you got the address Fran?"

Fran nodded and scurried over to the phone, pulling off a stickynote from the pad which had the address on it. "Here it is!" She jabbered, handing over the stickynote to RJ. He looked at the address, and frowned, before going back upstairs without another word. "Wait, what's wrong? Is everything alright boss?"

RJ stopped, and turned to look at Fran. He tried to smile a bit, but the worries that had bubbled up now he saw the address combined with the gut feeling of something going horribly wrong prevented him from smiling properly at his worried friends. "I'm just... Double checking the address, okay?

* * *

Maya sighed and sat down on the grass, just beside the large lake. This was Master Swoop's sanctuary, his place of rest and relaxation as well as meditation. Growing up, the Masters had been like family to her, as well as to Jarrod and the other students. Pai Zhua was like a big family, the more she thought about it, with everyone looking out for each other. Everyone training to be the best, but also helping others to be their best too. She wished that she could go back to those days and be happy once again.

She was happy now, she had her animal spirit, she had new friends, she had experienced so many new things while in Japan, learning kick flips and low down sweeping kicks, learning how to unleash her animal spirit and gain maximum effect from it, discovering her warrior armour and energy powers that had came from it... So many new things that made the young lady all the more excited to learn and all the more eager to return home and show it all to her brother. Despite how mature and serious she became whenever she fought in her armour, she always found it made her more mysterious and cool, she was like a little puppy most of the time. She was usually full of energy, happy to learn and be around people. When Maya fought, she felt a thrill, she felt more alive than ever, and that made her fight harder. She had always been determined to do better, to succeed.

But looking at herself in the water, injured arm bandaged, small bruises scattered across her body, three long red claw marks across her cheek... She didn't feel energetic. She felt weak. Broken. Useless. She knew she could still fight, still do something to help, but even if she wanted to the rest of the team would be unhappy with her for going against their wishes and fighting instead of resting. She didn't feel like the mighty Maya Jones who rushed in guns blazing to save Camille's life three days ago: she felt like a little mouse, unable to do anything to help anyone.

"Maybe I was better off in Japan... Maybe I shouldn't have came back..." She whimpered to herself, looking down at her reflection one last time, before closing her eyes. "Dammit, why can't I do anything right?"

"That's not true at all."

A new yet familiar female voice answered Maya's question, and quickly, the startled lioness opened her eyes. In the water's reflection, she now saw a new face, one with black hair, lots of eyeshadow and a gentle expression, as well as a lack of bandages. "C-Camille? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be-"

"With Dai Shi? Yes, but I slipped away to get some fresh air. He knows I'm outside the temple. It gets really hot and stuffy in there sometimes, how Master can lug about that big fur cloak of his is beyond my comprehension. But enough about that. My animal spirit brought me here. She seemed distressed. I suppose now I can see why. Do you mind if I sit down?" Maya was too stunned to answer, so she just nodded. Carefully, Camille sat down beside the lioness, and took off her black heeled boots. She slipped off her black stockings, and dipped her feet into the lake, sighing with relief. "Ah, its been a while since I've relaxed like this. Even my baths are quick five minute scrubs before I must go and fight or plan."

Maya looked at her own feet at she sat cross-legged on the grass. "Right now I suppose I'd only be good at the planning part. My team won't let me fight, they think I'm too weak. I suppose they're right. I thought that I'd come back home, show off my talents, be loved and admired. I thought that any fights I could win with little trouble. I guess I let my ego get the better of me... And as a result, I'm benched from fighting. Already. I didn't think things could get any worse..."

"And maybe they will continue to get worse. Right now, your friends, they are fighting in the city and they are losing. If you sit here, and do nothing, they will all lose, and it will be only you left to save the world. You cannot do it alone. Yes, it appears you did let your ego and confidence get the best of you, but we all make mistakes. I've made plenty of them, believe me. And from my experience, if you make a mistake, you need to pick yourself up and continue onwards." Camille gently lifted her feet out of the cool water, before turning to look at Maya. "You and your brother are indeed twins. He has let his ego get the better of him too, and he has lost as well. I have seen how he reacts to it... Rather similar to you. He beats himself up over it."

"Are you sure it's Jarrod and not Dai Shi?"

"I'm sure. There is a difference in their behaviour, I have noticed. One takes out his anger on himself. The other..." She lifted up her right sleeve carefully to show a fading bruise, "takes his anger out on others."

Maya's eyes widened a little when she saw the faded bruise: it doesn't look like a recent injury. "Did... Did Dai Shi do that to you?" She asked, voice quivering a little.

"Yes. He did. After another one of my plans failed, he snapped, pushed me down some stairs. I didn't die, obviously, but I sustained injuries that are only now going away. I think that moment... That was when I realised that something was not right. Not with what he did to me... But his reaction. Before I blacked out, I remember... He looked pale. Afraid. Panicked. I heard him shout my name in a worried tone before I fell unconscious."

"And you think that may have been Jarrod who was worrying?" questioned Maya once again, now less concerned and more curious.

"You know... Part of me wants to believe it was..." Camille uttered, her voice sounding rather lost, almost as if she's not sure what she's saying. Maya surveyed the woman's face; Camille herself looked lost, she looked almost dazed and spaced out as she stared off into the distance. But at the same time, there was a small smile on her face. It reminded her of how she caught Theo looking at Lily once...

"... Crud! I almost forgot! The others need me, don't they?" She yelped, scrambling to her feet. Camille didn't jump, she didn't seem startled in any way. She just turned to look at the lioness again with a small smile still on her face.

"Are you sure? You're weak..."

"Maybe I am. But I'm not sitting around feeling sorry for myself when my friends need me! If I'm going down it ain't gonna be without a fight! I won't give up! Not until every bone in my body is broken!" The lioness announced, proud and encouraged.

Camille chuckled a little. "I wouldn't go that far. But I'm glad to see you have some confidence back. Just be careful, okay?"

"I will, don't worry. And... Thanks, for chatting to me. That was actually really nice."

"You're welcome, lioness. But... Please, keep this conversation between us, alright? If Dai Shi or the Phantom Beasts find out about this... I'll be destroyed. And I don't think you'll be able to save me a second time," Insisted Camille. Despite her little laugh afterwards, Maya could tell she was clearly worried.

"Don't worry," she assured the warrior with a confident yet kind expression on her face, "I will find a way. You're not as bad as the rangers believe you are. You're not as bad as you think you are too. Even if you try to convince yourself you're evil to the bone... There's some good in you. Now! I got a team I need to help!" With that, Maya walked away from the lake, and managed to teleport to the city, with her animal spirit alive and thriving and showing her the way from there.

The chameleon sat by the lake, carefully pulling back on her stockings, and thinking to herself. She WAS evil to the bone ten thousand years ago, when she fought and defeated Pai Zhua students, when she set up elaborate traps to capture victims with... But now? She was beginning to become uncertain of herself. What if she did become good? What if the others realised and tried to keep her in line more so than they already did? Camille sighed, finished pulling on her heeled boots, and closed her eyes.

 _I can just tell you're a good person._

"Maybe she was right..."

* * *

The lioness spirit charged ahead with bounding strides as she headed towards the location of the fight. Maya - who was following her spirit with no clue as to where they were going at first - could now hear the shouts of various entities, though whether human or beast she was unsure about. Still, she was now determined to try and help her friends, and she sure wasn't going to let her team tell her to go hide and stop fighting. This was her fight too, and she was going to do whatever it took to help out.

As she and the lioness spirit turned a corner, they came to a halt when they saw only Theo, avoiding kicks and punches from three Power Rangers she had never seen before in her life. She watched in shock as Theo dodged a sweeping blow from the Bat Power Ranger, then jumped up into the air and aimed a strange sort of satellite-like device at the three Rangers. Just as her brain reminded her about the Spirit Rangers Casey had spoken about that morning when they were filling in some blanks and confirming what they already knew, the Spirit Rangers were already gone, vanishing in a blur of blue, green and black.

Theo landed on his feet as quickly as he had jumped up and blasted the Spirit Rangers, and began to inspect the device which had begun to emit smoke. He seemed to shake his head, and crouch down to put the device to one side carefully, before bouncing back onto his feet and standing strong. A monster entered her line of sight now, one with what she debated internally were either boomerangs or blades attached to as many places on it's body as possible. Still, it was there, and it looked scary. And it was going to be facing off against Theo.

"What a nuisance you are!" It shrieked angrily, staring (?) down the blue ranger. It charged at him, ready to attack.

Maya growled, and ran over, the lioness spirit rushing after her. "Not so fast creep!" She roared. Dynamir turned to face her quickly, but before he could react she had already reached him and blasted him with golden energy in the chest, sending him flying backwards into a car, before shooting several consecutive smaller energy blasts at him to stun him temporarily. With a grin, she turned to Theo. "You alright? Where are the others?"

"He has them, he captured them and Luen too! But shouldn't you be back at base? What are you doing out her when you're injured?" He asked, his face furrowed in confusion.

"Yes, I should be back at the base, but I can't just sit around and let you fight this guy on your own! Remember what I told you earlier on Theo?"

Theo sighed, and smiled a bit. "Can't win them all, especially on your own."

"Exactly!" She announced triumphantly, before adding, "Y'know, I didn't really appreciate you storming off upstairs after I had tried to help you. Your little comment saying I was better off benched didn't really help either."

"I know... And I'm sorry, okay? You were right. I thought about it, and I suppose I just didn't want to admit I was wrong at the time, not with all of this happening with Luen. Speaking of... Looks like our friend has got back up." Theo pointed over to Dynamir, who had recovered from Maya's attack and was now eager to exact revenge and follow through with his orders. "Look, let's put all this behind us, and take this guy down."

She nodded in agreement, and stood beside him as the beast stormed over. "Another one of you? How many did I miss?" He snarled.

"Only two of us. But don't worry, this crowd of three won't last long once we're finished with you!" Maya shouted with a smug expression on her face.

"Why you little-!" He shrieked again in rage, and shot two glowing boomerangs/blades at her and Theo. Quickly, they backflipped out the way, and Maya hurriedly blasted the boomerangs to pieces just before they landed. Theo pulled his morpher out from his pocket, and glanced over at Maya with a serious expression on his face once more.

"You think you can access your armour?"

"I can certainly try! Let's give it all we got!"

He nodded, and put on his morpher. He wasn't going to let this beast get away with capturing his friends, and he certainly wasn't going to let him get away with capturing his brother. He knew this was a risk, he was showing off his ranger form with Luen potentially seeing it and knowing about his secret, but that was a risk he was more than willing to take to save him.

"Jungle beast! Spirit unleashed!"

"Lioness armour, unleashing the spirit within!"

If Dynamir had eyes, he would have been blinded by the bright flash of gold, black and blue that enveloped Theo and Maya. The lioness spirit jumped onto Maya, and formed into a short black and gold leather dress, fingerless leather gloves, and boots to match her dress, as well as a visor. Her ginger hair brightened and blew dramatically in the wind that had now begun to sweep across the area. Theo himself performed complex yet swift kung fu movements in quick succession, before unleashing his jaguar spirit, which almost immediately formed into his blue spandex, black and orange fighting gloves, and helmet.

"With the stealth of the jaguar, Jungle Fury Blue Ranger!"

"With the heart of the lioness, Black Lioness Warrior!"

Once again, Dynamir charged at Theo, this time with Maya now in his line of destruction, and this time with the added bonus of both the blue ranger and the lioness warrior rushing towards him in return, ready to fight. As the beast attempted to strike Theo away with his right arm, the jaguar warrior quickly blocked the attack and twisted, flipping Dynamir off to the right. Maya then performed a jumpkick, which Dynamir dodged, before quickly pulling off a low sweeping kick which she had learnt in Japan. The beast was quick, and dodged this too, but what he didn't anticipate was Theo's sudden kick to his chest, causing him to stumble backwards and lose his balance a little. However, Dynamir recovered from this and in return, charged down low and slashed at both Theo and Maya multiple times with the blades/boomerangs on his arms, which caused them to be sent flying backwards into some oil drums.

Theo scrambled to his feet first. "You alright over there?" He asked his friend worriedly, looking over at the lioness who was clutching the arm he knew she damaged in her fight the other day,

Maya looked up at him and nodded. "I'm fine, don't worry. This guy is tough!"

"Yea he is, but so are we!" Theo summoned his claw booster and with confidence in his voice, shouted "Jungle Master mode!"

The lioness quickly covered her eyes, and when she looked back seconds later, Theo's spandex was now sporting a new look, with a bright blue claw insignia on his chest instead of black, what looked like small jets attached to his spandex, and a new predominantly white colour scheme. She noted how he now looked rather similar to the Spirit Rangers she had seen him defeat (?) earlier. He turned to her again, and held out his other hand, helping her to her feet as quick as possible, just before Dynamir decided to attack once again.

Theo used his jet boosters to flip over Dynamir in order to avoid the attack, while Maya did a quick forward roll just underneath his arm, before turning around on the floor and performing a backflip that kicked Dynamir in the face and allowed her to get back onto her feet swiftly. Before he could recover from it, Theo slashed him multiple times with his claw booster, twice on Dynamir's chest and once at the legs, before doing a low sweeping kick to knock him off his feet. With one strong kick from Maya, the beast went flying once again, and this time he dropped something. There was a brief sparkle of light as Luen, now free, fell onto the floor. Confused, and pretty shaken up, he looked around, and watched with wide eyes as Dynamir got to his feet and continued to fight.

Dynamir slashed at Maya once again, but she ducked and avoided the attack, only to be kicked in the stomach which caused her to recoil. Angry, Theo took this opening and sliced Dynamir diagonally twice in the chest once again. With a furious sound, Dynamir rolled away and attempted to slash at Theo's feet, only for him to jump and avoid the attack. When he tried again to attack the blue ranger with his arm boomerangs/blades, Theo backflipped out the way, before dashing forward using his jets and performing an entire body uppercut slash, knocking the monster to the floor. Maya by this point had recovered from the attack to her stomach, and turned to Theo. He nodded, and allowed her to have the finishing blow. Focusing her strength, she summoned golden energy to her fingertips once again, and with a loud roaring battlecry, she struck the floor, sending the energy through the floor. Dynamir was shocked when the energy spiked up from the ground, striking him across his entire body like multiple swords or needles stabbing at him. An oil barrel just behind Dynamir got spiked too, and the oil was set ablaze, causing a large explosion that sent the beast flying into the air and landing with a thud.

As the beast got sent flying, he lost several more shiny items, and what Maya assumed to be shiny bottlecaps at first quickly vanished in a sparkle of light, as RJ, Casey, Lily and Dominic were freed from their capture. RJ's first move was to check on the device he made, while Theo demorphed and rushed over to Luen to make sure he was okay. Maya stayed by his side, weakened more so than before, but still determined to be there for the ream.

"Theo? No way..." Luen sounded amazed and stunned.

Luen's brother smiled fondly. "You okay Luen? Are you hurt?"

"Yea, I'm okay! I can't believe this! You're a... You're a Power Ranger! That's so cool!"

Maya chuckled and ruffled Luen's hair. "Still think that your brother is wasting his time with all this kung fu?" She asked gently. Luen opened his mouth, about to answer, when they heard a familiar angry sound that caused them all to turn and towards Dynamir, who had gotten to his feet and was ready to attack again. Casey, Lily and Dominic looked at each other, and nodded.

"Y'know," Casey began as he turned to Dynamir, "breaking mirrors is bad luck. For you anyway." He pulled his morpher out from his pocket, as did Lily, while Dom's bracelet formed into his rhino morpher. With a shout of "Jungle beast! Spirit unleashed!" And a flash of colours and complex movements, followed by another shout of "Jungle Master mode!" And the addition of a claw booster, Casey and his two friends had all morphed, and were ready to continue the fight where Maya and Theo left off.

"That doesn't scare me!" Dynamir mocked, before suddenly growing to what Luen could only describe as the size of either Big Ben, the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty. "Try me now, pathetic rangers!"

Casey didn't even flinch as the monster suddenly towered over them all. "We can match that!" He and Lily quickly unleashed the gorilla and the penguin animal spirits of Master Rilla and Guin respectively, and the antelope spirit of Master Lope joined them to form the giant being they called the Jungle Master Megazord. Luen watched in awe along with Maya as Dominic did the same, his rhino spirit being summoned and transforming itself into the Rhino Steel Zord in Warrior Mode, complete with a sword and shield.

"You guys can do this sort of thing too? That's so awesome!" Luen marvelled, watching in absolute awe as the megazords begin their fight with the evil beast.

"Oh you have got to teach me how to do this sometime Theo!" Maya exclaimed with joy.

"You didn't learn this in Japan?"

"Well of course not dummy, I was learning how to be a better Pai Zhua student not a Power Ranger. This was certainly not taught at Pai Zhua, I know that for certain."

The Jungle Master Megazord began the fight quickly with a strong punch to Dynamir's chest, which was followed up by the Rhino Steel Megazord slashing at the beast with his sword three times across the chest, knocking Dynamir back and onto the roads below. Scrambling to his feet, Dynamir created a large boomerang beam and with a menacing cackle, sent it flying at the Jungle Master Megazord. There was a flash of bright light, and the Megazord vanished, sending Casey and Lily tumbling onto the floor with a shout of confusion and annoyance.

RJ walked over to the three, looking concerned. "Looks like we're up now Theo," he sighed before hastily adding, "and Maya, stay out of this fight please."

Maya shook her head a little. "I don't know how to go all big cool spirit mode but I'm not just going to sit about like a dog in the sunshine. Uh... No offence?"

The wolf master looked at the student, and smiled. "No offence taken," he said with composure and kindness. "Alright, you come along with me on this one then, so I can keep an eye on you. You ready for this?"

"Oh you bet I'm ready! Let's do this!"

RJ quickly morphed, once again right in front of their eyes, and took Maya by the hand. Focusing, he summoned the wolf spirit along with the tiger and Jaguar, which formed the Wolf Pride Megazord. He wasted no time in transporting Maya inside the megazord so she was able to experience what it was like, yet at the same time allowing her to be safer. "Alright, this is it! The cockpit of the megazord. Pretty cool huh?"

"You bet it is! But what about Theo? Is he gonna fight too?"

"Right beside you!" Maya yelped as Theo suddenly appeared in the megazord to the other side of Maya. "Sorry, sorry. Got enough room for three of us?" The wolf master chuckled and nodded, before sending the megazord forward. Dynamir was sending multiple consecutive boomerang/blade beams at Dom, and he was just barely blocking them. Just as Dynamir was about to send him out the zord, using the same large boomerang beam he used on Lily and Casey, the Wolf Pride Megazord flipped over. "Calling on the spirit of the bat!" Theo shouted, and before Maya could figure out what happened, the megazord slashed at the boomerang beam with some sort of wing, and shattered it, before slicing at Dynamir and knocking him back onto the floor.

"What just-?" Maya stammered.

Theo grinned behind his helmet. "I'll explain later, don't worry." They watched as Dynamir got to his feet and prepared to attack again!

"Give me your best shot!" He taunted the four, laughing manically again.

"My best shot?" Maya heard Theo say, "This guy doesn't stand a chance!"

"Yea! Ready to finish this?" RJ asked his friend.

They heard Theo laugh a little. "Of course I'm ready!" Maya smiled, happy that Theo was back to being cheerful and not so down like he was earlier. Then again, she couldn't complain when she too had been sad and gloomy earlier as well: but now, both of them were back, full of energy and ready to save the day!

On Theo's count, all three of them jumped up and did a high forwards kick. As if in response, the Jungle Pride Megazord jumped up into the air, though not by much, and flew towards Dynamir, its lower half beginning to spin. It drill-kicked the beast right in the chest with so much force and power that it went right through the beast and landed on the other side. Dynamir staggered like a drunk, stunned by the attack.

"It's my turn now! Rhino steel super blade!" With an energetic shout, the megazord's sword began to glow. Dynamir couldn't block the sword even if he tried, as Dominic made the sword slash across the monster's body. The monster shrieked in pain as it was sliced across the body before collapsing to the floor, and exploding. Dynamir was no more.

* * *

Dominic dashed up the sidestairs to the loft, where Theo and Luen were. One of the brothers was attempting to play the guitar, while the other was folding up a T-shirt and putting it aside. "Hey Luen! Your taxi's arrived!"

Luen looked up at Dom and grinned. "Thanks, I'll be down in a moment. Just gimme a sec." Dominic nodded and headed back downstairs to tell the taxi driver, leaving the twins alone in the loft.

"How do you keep your fingers in the right place while trying to play this thing?" Theo asked, giving up with the guitar in his hands and turning around to face his brother.

"Well you practice for years, that's how!" He answered joyfully, a grin still on his face. "Believe me, it's not easy to learn the guitar."

Theo chuckled a little. "I'll take your word on that."

Luen raised an eyebrow at his brother. "I could ask the same to you y'know! You fly through the air, hitting warriors, how do you do all that?" He asked.

"Practice. For years. Just like you with your guitar. And I'd say it was certainly no easy feat at first." Theo turned back around and put his brother's guitar in its case. When he looked up, Luen was kneeling down in front of him, closing the case and picking it up.

"Hey... I'm sorry I called your kung fu a waste of time Theo," he confessed, standing up with guitar case in hand, "I couldn't have been more wrong."

Theo stood up from his seat and looked at his brother. He could see how sorry he was, and he could hear his sincerity in his voice. "Yea... And... I'm sorry for calling your stories fictitious. The truth is, I've always been proud of you. And... I'll never stop being proud of you. So... Go out there and keep having fun, okay?" He smiled, and opened his arms for his brother. Luen hugged Theo, and held him close. It was nice to hug his brother, knowing he meant every word he said and knowing that his brother cared about him more than he ever admitted before.

The blue ranger was sad to see his brother leaving so soon, but he promised himself that when all this was over, when Dai Shi was defeated, he could call his brother, and arrange for the two of them to meet again, maybe even go back home to see their parents and talk about the things they've been up to.

This wasn't going to be the last time they met and hugged.

* * *

"Something is not right," Scorch growled to his companion Snapper as they stood in one of the corridors. They had followed Dai Shi and Camille out of the room where they had the Masters chained and controlled, but Scorch had pulled Snapper and only Snapper aside to talk to him about something that had been concerning him as of late.

"What do you mean Scorch? Elaborate a bit please," the general asked, unsure and curious.

Scorch shook his head and sighed. "I'm not buying Dai Shi's excuse."

"About the lioness and her escape?"

"Yes you idiot. I don't believe he just let the lioness walk free. He claimed he chased after her but if that was the case surely he would have caught up to her or at least kept on following her. I refuse to believe our king just stood there and watched her run away. Something is not right. And along with that, Camille keeps on disappearing. I think she's up to something."

Snapper thought about it for a few moments, then nodded. "You may be right," he began, "but we can't just accuse her of something when we have no proof. Dai Shi wouldn't like that, you know he wouldn't. What do you think we do?"

"We need to find a way to keep an eye on her, so we can see what she gets up to. And as for the lioness... We should attempt to destroy her the next time we encounter her. Dai Shi said that she is his equal, she seems to be just as strong as him, but we are stronger, since we were able to capture her."

"That sounds like a good idea. So, we keep an eye on the chameleon and take out the lioness?"

"Correct, my comrade. Keep this between you and me." With an evil chuckle, Scorch headed to the throne room, with Snapper following close behind him.

Tomorrow, they would begin their plans.


	9. Chapter 8 - Worry

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the massive chapter delay, I've kinda been drained of both energy and ideas for a while. I finished my exam season and I just wanted to spend my days sleeping and playing Overwatch. But I'm back, for a bit anyway, and I'm gonna try and add some more chapters to this story as well as the OTP Prompts I'm doing too. Without further ado, let the story continue! :D**

* * *

"Woah RJ, what's gotten you all excited?" Lily asked as she pulled on her yellow ranger jacket, before walking over to the corner of the loft, where an excited RJ stood alongside several machines surrounding the claw cannon lying on a table.

"Yes, do tell. I don't like being woken up at freaking 6:30am in the morning," an irritated lioness groaned, as Maya made her way over to the tech corner along with Casey, who had been tasked by RJ with the duty of attempting to get the sleepy girl out of her bed. Theo, who was already at the table, turned to her and tilted his head a little, seemingly confused.

"What time did you wake up at when you were at the academy?"

Maya rolled her eyes. "7am, the same as every other student in the academy. But those 30 extra minutes make one hell of a difference, I can guarantee that!"

"Easy guys. Now, is everyone here fully awake?" The wolf master asked, receiving nods from everyone regardless of how grumpy some looked. "Good, now that everyone is here, I can begin explaining the new additions I made to the claw cannon."

"Additions? It looks the same to me," Dom declared with a puzzled expression.

"Ah, well, it is the same, but instead of using the tiger, jaguar and cheetah spirits I tuned it so it would use elephant, bat, and shark spirits instead."

Suddenly, lightbulbs went off in the heads of Theo and Casey, while Dominic continued to look a bit confused, Maya continuing to be grumpy, and Lily somewhere in between understanding RJ and not understanding him. "Because the spirit rangers are connected to the three masters!" Theo announced, "And those masters possess the elephant, bat and shark spirits!"

RJ nodded, and grinned a bit. "Bingo bango bongo. I tuned the wavelengths enough so the cannon should cancel out the spirit of your opponent, or opponents in this case."

"Wait, by cancel, do you mean... Destroy the spirit?" Questioned the yellow ranger, a look of concern on her face. RJ looked at the young student, and his grin quickly disappeared, turning into a concerned frown. Lily bit her lip and tensed up, before asking another question: "If you destroy the spirit... Couldn't that destroy the master too?"

"... I... Don't know. I haven't been able to test it, and obviously I don't want to test it in case that happens."

Casey shook his head. "No, no we can't take that risk. We can't destroy the masters," he said determinedly, "even if it turns out to be the only way to get rid of the spirit rangers, I'm not willing to take a risk like that."

"But Casey," Maya began, now fully awake and alert, "You'll be stuck in a loop until you do take that risk. I mean, Dai Shi is gonna keep sending out the spirit rangers along with beasts to fight, and all the while he's gonna get stronger. The stronger he gets, the more likely he is to defeat us all and take over the world... And the more likely we can't save Jarrod. Whether you care for my brother or not, until you guys can save the Masters, this is the only option left. And those phantom beasts aren't gonna let anybody get to them, that's for certain. So... Even though the risk is big, you gotta take it."

Dominic nodded in agreement, patting Casey"s shoulder. "I agree. Those guys are getting stronger everyday, just like we are. We gotta push them back somehow, and taking our the spirit rangers is a step in the right direction."

Lily shook her head too. "No, we still can't risk destroying the masters! We can't do this!"

Theo looked at his group of friends, torn between agreeing with Maya and Dominic, and agreeing with Casey and Lily. He didn't want to destroy the masters, they'd done so much to help them, but at the same time, what other choices did they have that would result in success for them rather than Dai Shi?

"We gotta do it," RJ's stern voice snapped Theo out of his thought process. Lily and Casey looked at RJ suddenly, eyes wide and about to protest, but he calmly put his hand up to silence them. "Hear me out. Maya and Dom are right. As much as I don't want to risk destroying the masters, especially my dad... Until we can get into Dai Shi's temple, rescue the masters and then get back out in one piece, this is really our only other option. Dai Shi is stalling for time at this point. He's using this opportunity to get stronger. We can't allow that." The wolf master took a deep breath, then exhaled. "If any of the masters are destroyed, then... They'll be destroyed. There isn't much we can do otherwise. But if it's for the greater good of this world, then I'm sure none of them would mind."

The red ranger sighed a little. "I guess they wouldn't mind too much, they want what's best for humanity too. But if we're going to fight them, let's not allow the city to get more damaged. Everyone's still recovering from both the Grizzaka attack and the Sonimax attack too."

With a small smile, the purple ranger walked over to the TV surveillance system, and grabbed his TV remote, beginning to flick through cameras for a few moments until he got the two that he was after. One TV showed a large red arch, and a dirt path, from a camera that was high up looking down. The other was also from a high place looking down at an angle, and was that of a forest. The footage consisted mostly of the emerald leaves of various trees, but just behind all those leaves and trees was a dirt path, a similar one to the other camera. "I already came up with a plan, no need to fret mi amigo. This is the place that we'll be fighting, nearby where Casey and Dai Shi had their little crystal eyes dispute the other day. Maya, do you mind staying here and monitoring the surveillance cameras?"

Maya bit her lip a little, then shook her head. "No, I don't mind. After the fight yesterday I suppose I gotta take it somewhat easy. My shoulder ain't getting any better, and it won't get better if I keep pushing it. But... If things get too tough for you guys, please let me come in and help. I can't sit by and watch you all get hurt. I'd rather myself get hurt than any of you."

"Not to be rude, but how can you say that?" Asked Theo worriedly, "You barely know me, Lil, Casey and RJ. The only guy you know in this team is Dom."

The lioness turned to the blue ranger, looking him in the eyes as best as she can. "Because you guys have been fighting this battle against Dai Shi longer than I have. I've only just joined in the battle. I can't let a simple injury get the better of me, and I can't just stand in the background and let you do all the fighting and take all the hits. I am a part of this fight too. I want to do my part, put all my training to good use. It's not like it's done me any good so far, has it? So please. Let me get involved when I need to."

"... Alright. If you wanna get involved, I'm fine with it. I guess we can't keep you benched forever, we do need more help to fight Dai Shi," Theo responded almost reluctantly.

"Thank you. Does anybody else have any objections?"

Casey shook his head. "I'm not objecting. We Pai Zhua have to stick together. Even if we don't know each other all that well. We need all the help we can get at the end of the day."

"I'm with Casey on this," Lily said, "Things were already getting a bit harder, and the arrival of these phantom beasts means we got our work cut out. One person may not mean much on their own, but the way you fought that beast with Theo yesterday even with your injury tells me that fighting solo, even for lone wolves like yourself, or lone lionesses I guess is more accurate, isn't nearly as good as fighting as a group. We're much stronger as a team, when we fight together. We need to continue doing that."

"I forgot to ask that, actually. Where did you go yesterday Maya? And what made you decide to fight alongside Theo to defeat Dynamir?" Asked the rhino ranger, looking at his friend with a curious expression. Maya took a moment to think. She wanted to tell the truth, that it was Camille who suddenly appeared and gave her the boost of confidence she needed, who spoke to her and snapped her out of her moment of self-pity. But if she did say that, she felt like things would get worse. Pai Zhua or not, she was still earning the trust of everyone, and she figured that telling them she spoke with one of their enemies probably wouldn't improve things. Saving Camille from her destruction during their first encounter had already thrown them off quite a bit.

"I... I went to Master Swoop's lake. While I was there, my animal spirit began... Talking to me," she lied as her eyes looked down at the floor below her, "It wasn't much, but she said to stop being so down and to go and help. That sitting there and moping wasn't going to solve anything. It took some time to think about what she said before I realised that she was right. I guess I just let my emotions and self-pity get the better of me."

Lily put a hand on Maya's shoulder and smiled at her. "Hey, don't beat yourself up about it too much. This isn't what you're used to. Your training in Japan was probably a lot different than all this. Fighting your brother probably wasn't what you expected when you came home either. And hey, nobody is perfect. We're all still learning too, y'know."

Maya glanced up at the yellow ranger, and smiled a warm yet cheeky grin, reminiscent of Dominic's troublemaker smile. "You're way too kind to someone you barely know. You do realise that, right?"

The cheetah spirited girl chuckled a little. "Oh believe me, I know. But I'm learning to accept that it's just who I am."

RJ clapped his hands in order to regain the attention of his friends. Despite his slightly serious expression he was now smiling a little again, happy to see that not only is Maya beginning to settle in a bit but is also slowly being accepted by Casey, Theo and Lily. "Sorry to interrupt, but we got work to do."

"Right, right. So, you guys go out into the woods, the spirit rangers come out of hiding and you fight them. But how will any of us know? Will I be able to see them on the camera?" Asked Maya curiously.

"See, that's the big issue here beside our little... Potential spirit destruction problem. We do get some idea when the spirit rangers are about to jump outta nowhere and attack us because lightening, or at least someone sort of electricity, begins to appear on the ground. Or in the ground. Or above the- You get the idea. But that only gives us a small window of time before the three actually show up to fight. So, that's what this second camera is for. That, my friends, is a camera that shows Dai Shi's temple. Or at least, the path leading to it." Several jaws dropped and a gasp rang out from the small crowd. RJ grinned knowingly. "Yes, you did hear me right," the wolf master continued, having practically read the faces of his shocked companions. "After you told us what happened, Maya, and we all discussed what was going on, I came up with an idea. I made my way to Dai Shi's temple, and set up a camera at the very entrance which is far away from where any beasts or RinShi stood, at least on that morning anyway. Then I got the heck outta there. While it seems our little friends prefer to teleport rather than walk around, I have some hope that we might catch something on this camera that can help us know if and when an attack is coming. So Maya, on this camera, if you see anybody leave the temple, or anything odd, like the electricity I mentioned, then tell us over our morphers and your fancy communication device I'm gonna give you. Any questions?"

Casey was the first to lift his jaw off the floor and speak. "Was there any signs of the masters?"

RJ shook his head. "None that I saw. They probably teleported with them to make sure they couldn't be tracked. And believe me, I would have gone in to get them, but... Well... As evidenced by Maya as well as our own little escapades, it seems that these phantom beasts generals and Dai Shi would be pretty hard to get through if I did."

The rhino ranger gave his friend an understanding smile. "It's okay RJ. It wouldn't be a smart idea for any of us to go in alone all commando to try and save the masters. If we go in there, we go in as a team."

"And preferably when a lack of phantom beasts and/or beasts in general are around," added Maya with a laugh.

Dominic's smile turned into a grin. "That too."

Theo raised his hand a little. "So when ARE we going to go and save the masters?"

"Well that'll depend on if the claw cannon affects them in any way," answered RJ, his expression darkening with worry. "If it ends up destroying any of the masters then... We'll just have to go in and save those remaining. Even if it helps our fight, I don't think I could let all three masters get destroyed."

Smiles faded from everyone's faces as they all nodded in agreement. Potentially losing one master was a worry that was plaguing the minds of them all, though particularly Casey, Theo and Lily. They were the ones who would decide in the end to fire at a master and risk losing them. And while they agreed with RJ that it would help in their fight against Dai Shi, they still didn't want to be the ones to pull the trigger of the claw cannon: not on those who had done so much already to help them.

But despite their worries, they didn't see many options left for them to go for. All they could do was continue to hope for the best.


	10. Chapter 9 - Hesitance

Scorch made his way into the throne room, walking briskly and yet with his head held high. Snapper and Whiger were already there, guarding their king who was sat on his throne, awaiting the confirmation from the phantom beasts to go ahead with the use of the spirit rangers once again. Camille was there as well, standing around idly as she too awaited for the Pai Zhua masters to be used once again against the very students they taught. Part of her couldn't help but grin maliciously at just the thought of them being tortured, being controlled and forced to fight, especially when it came to Master Finn. She hadn't forgotten the shame he brought her when he defeated Jellica's beast and forced her back to the temple in order to keep her life.

The phantom beast noticed her little smirk when he walked by her, and he stopped. Turning slowly to her, they made eye contact, and Scorch growled at her. "You'll bow when in the presence of a phantom beast general."

But Camille did not bow. "I don't take orders from you," she countered, her cold gaze piercing him. After giving Maya her boost of confidence the day before, she had realised that she was no better than the lioness had been. She had been taking hits, accepting the violence and abuse her kind put her through, simply because she had been taught to be that way despite her urge to fight back and not endure the slaps, the scratches and the bruises. But now, after encouraging Maya to do the right thing despite what others may be telling her to do, she had realised that she should have listened to that urge. And now, Camille was going to do her damn best to show she's not a punching bag. Not to anyone. ESPECIALLY not her own kind.

The general growled again, and grabbed her wrist, claws digging into his skin as he dragged her close so they were inches apart. Just as he was about to shout at the warrior, however, Whiger put his hand on Scorch's shoulder and halted him in his dark tracks.

"Enough, Scorch. Save your strength for Pai Zhua, not each other." While Whiger didn't sound entirely calm, he certainly wasn't as angry as Scorch was right at that moment. "Come, let's go and summon the Spirit Rangers to cause some fear." Relucently, Scorch pushed Camille backwards into a pillar. He didn't say a word, as he and the other two phantom beast generals stormed off quickly to the dungeon where the three masters were chained up and ready to be used.

Camille groaned a little, and rubbed her head. It wasn't bleeding, much to her relief, but it certainly did hurt. "Damn that dragon..." She grumbled, as well as uttering several curse words under her breath, though loud enough for Dai Shi to hear as he walked over.

"Bleeding?"

"No, thankfully."

"Good. Let's get going then. We have a lot to do today, as per usual."

"Yes Master. Though is it wise to summon the spirit rangers this early in the day?"

Dai Shi shrugged. "There are pros and cons. But either way, we will make it work. We always do, right?" As Camille looked up at her tall master, she noticed the soft yet evil smile on his face and her heart began to race wildly as the colour rushed to her cheeks. She still didn't fully understand what it was about him that made her so giddy... But she definitely liked it.

"Y-Yes. We do." With a gentle smile in return, Camille makes her way to the dungeons, with Dai Shi right behind her. "We are getting close to the end, I can sense it. The rangers will fall soon, and victory will be ours. We may have lost many beasts, but their sacrifices will not be in vain." Camille paused for a moment, as a thought emerged from her unconscious. "Master? What will we do once we take over the world? What if these are not the only rangers that exist on this planet? The Samurai no doubt still exist somewhere on this planet and there is also the Ninja academies to consider."

The dark lord smirked once again. "We will deal with them when the time comes. If they do not suspect us, we can attack without warning and catch them off guard. Of course, Pai Zhua are our main priority."

"I understand that, of course, but who do we deal with afterwards? One Pai Zhua has fallen?"

"Hmm..." Dai Shi thought as they walked to the dungeon, their quiet footsteps echoed ever so slightly by the long dark halls they make their way down. "I suppose the Ninja academies first; I have a small suspicion that they have ties to the Pai Zhua academy, ties which could cause is some problems if we don't cut and discard them fast enough. After that, we deal with the Samurai, last time we encountered them they were on the other side of the earth, so they won't be a threat anytime soon." He concluded with a soft chuckle. "That is but a brief plan for the future, but we can develop it further once the time comes. For now, let's focus on what is currently going on."

"Understood, my lord." As the two of them finish their discussion, the faint light at the end of the corridor and the rough rocky cave merging with the smooth, chiseled walls of the temple indicated their arrival at the dungeon. Upon entry, they could see the three Masters, in their chains and looking weary despite their supposed recovery. Master Phant was barely moving and looked like he was close to falling asleep, Master Swoop looked pale and ragged, and Master Finn simply looked discouraged, like he had lost hope in his rescue. **'He has every right to be that way.'**

 _'But he doesn't deserve to be that way.'_

Dai Shi ignored Jarrod's voice in his head, determined to keep his control over the human. He was already slipping due to Camille and the confusing relationship she seemed to be developing with Jarrod, and he certainly did not intend to lose anymore control than he already had. He walked past the three Masters, giving each of them a harsh glare as he made his way to his little spectators box, where he would gleefully watch the Masters 'fight' with Camille by his side as per usual. As he walked past the weak Master Finn, the shark-spirited warrior looked up and suddenly spoke to him, causing the man to halt in his tracks against his will.

"Jarrod, think back to Pai Zhua. You were honourable, kind, virtuous... You can be again. You know that your sister waits for you to return. You know she cares and always has. And you know that we care too. We always have," he pleaded, desperate to help free this student from Dai Shi's clutches. Master Finn hadn't always been fond of Maya and Jarrod, at first he found Maya too shy and cautious and found Jarrod too irrational and, to put simply, too messed up in the head after the trauma he experienced. They weren't deserving to be Pai Zhua students. However, over time, he saw how the students changed; how Maya opened up more and became more energetic, how Jarrod was slowly able to think more logically and more calmly, and how they were inseparable and balanced each other out. He saw them not as intruding outsiders anymore, but as regular Pai Zhua students, two of those amongst the crowd that all deserved to be there. Like he did with the other students, when he was at the temple, if he encountered them, he would say hello and give them words of encouragement. Master Finn remembered the joy in the eyes of the twins when they were given these words; it was no surprise how different Jarrod looked now, how dark his eyes were and how lifeless they seemed, and yet Finn was still shocked at how corrupt the man had seemingly become.

Dai Shi froze, as a spike of pain hit his head and sudden memories flashed in his mind like a PowerPoint presentation on fast forward. He too remembered those times, when Master Finn looked at them with warm smiles. Not just Master Finn, but Master Mao too. Heck, all the masters cared for all of the students like they were their own. _'So... Why am I hurting him?'_

 **'Because you chose this path. He will only lie to you and hurt you after all of this. He doesn't care.'**

Jarrod growled at Master Finn, before walking past. Scorch stormed over, still in a state of rage after his little episode with Camille not even an hour ago. "Be quiet, you!" He ordered, shouting as he began to harm the shark master by draining whatever power or energy he had left, causing him immense pain. How gleeful it was to hear the Pai Zhua Master shriek in pain. Camille smirked at the site and sound, it was like music to her ears; she was happy to see him suffer.

But Jarrod couldn't stand it.

Quickly, he stopped walking, turned around and summoned his zocato. A burst of purple and black energy flew forth from him as Jarrod knocked Scorch back in a desperate attempt to stop the phantom beast general from harming the Pai Zhua Master any further. Camille stumbled back a little and shielded herself, cowering as the sudden blast of dark energy caused her to be thrown off balance a little, and Master Phant was also caught by surprise as he got a face full of the dark energy also, being to the left of Dai Shi when he stopped and turned around suddenly.

Scorch stopped harming Master Finn almost immediately, and was knocked back by the zocato blast. "You protect him?! A human?!" He bellowed in a furious roaring voice as he used his rinzin to cut through the dark energy to avoid losing his footing entirely. The zocato vanished as quickly as it appeared, and Dai Shi stood there looking... Stunned. As though he wasn't entirely sure what he had just done.

 **'What the hell was that for? What did you do!?'** _'That's for you to try and come up with.'_

Dai Shi composed himself after a few moment, and focused his now not-so-menacing glare onto Scorch. "Your power will weaken his spirit, meaning we cannot summon the spirit ranger. Don't you dare do it again," he snarled in his deep voice, before storming away. As the three phantom beast generals take their positions, Camille watches her Master as he walks over to the steps leading to the spectators box, then stops and leans against the wall, looking dazed and confused.

 **'Stop it! Stop doing this! You're mine to use!'** _'My body, my rules. I won't stop fighting you. I won't stop fighting to save the others. I never wanted this.'_ **'I don't care about what you want! You can't go back even if you wanted to! Now stop resisting!'**

A warm hand is what snapped Dai Shi and Jarrod out of their fight. They looked down to see Camille, gazing up at him and gently squeezing his hand. She was trembling a little, but continued to hold his hand regardless, as a means of comforting him. Slowly, she helped to guide him up the steps, and into the spectators box out of the general's sight.

The first thing he did was hold her close as soon as they could no longer be seen.

* * *

Fran walked up the stairs to the loft, adjusting her glasses a little. The restaurant was closed for the day, but she had decided to come in regardless and see how everyone was doing. The first thing she saw was Maya, sitting in RJ's armchair and watching the surveillance system. The second thing she noticed was that Maya had taken off the bandage used for her injured shoulder and had wrapped them instead around her hands almost like gloves. Lying back in the cosy seat, she looked somewhat bored, but also like she was daydreaming. Shyly, Fran shuffled on over and tapped the warrior on the shoulder lightly.

"Uhm... M-Maya? Are you okay?" She asked cautiously. Maya didn't respond, however, so she tried again to get a response. "Maya? P-Please answer me. Are you okay?"

With a small jump and a small "Oh!", Maya snapped back to reality, and turned to look at Fran, flicking some ginger hair out her eyes. "Sorry Fran. Guess I must've gone daydreaming again."

"It's okay, I daydream a lot too. Especially after reading a good book!" Fran smiled a little. "What are you looking at on the screen? Or, I guess, supposed to be looking at."

Maya let Fran take a look at the system, with the cameras RJ told her to watch. "Y'see this one right here, the one in the forest? RJ set that one up becayse they're gonna be fighting there, and they want me to keep an eye out. This other one, believe it or not, is right outside Dai Shi's temple." The lioness couldn't help but smirk and chuckle a little as Fran's expression shifted from curiosity to shock surprisingly fast. "Is it really that shocking?"

"Well kinda, yes! How did you guys get a camera there? Why not closer?"

All Fran gets is a shrug and a brief response of "Ask RJ." After that, Maya returns to being silent, staring at the camera looking at the entrance to Dai Shi's temple. Fran watches her for a few moments, before grabbing a stool and sitting down beside Maya, deciding to watch the surveillance cameras too, mostly so the young lady beside her wasn't so lonely. It was rather awkward, just the two of them sat watching for any sign of either the forces of evil or the forces of good.

"... Why have you wrapped your bandages around your hands? T-That's supposed to be for your shoulder isn't it?" queries Fran, unable to withstand the horribly awkward silence anymore. Maya shrugged again, but this game gave the bookworm more of an answer.

"I dunno. Guess I feel more comfortable with the bandages on my hands. Especially since kung fu and fighting in general involves punching and swinging at enemies. My shoulder isn't bleeding or anything, so I don't see the need for a bandage on it."

"T-The reason they put a bandage on it is because of the pressure, and that pressure helps relieve some of the pain. S-Since your shoulder is either pulled or sprained, and according to the others there's quite a bruise there too, RJ should have put it in a sling rather than wrap it in bandages to take some weight off it... And maybe some ice would help relieve more pain as well as stop any sweeping. And maybe-"

"How do you know all of this?" Fran jumped as Maya turned to look at her again suddenly as she asked her question in a tone which the bookworm noted was in a slightly irritated tone. "Seriously, you're like a walking dictionary. Spurting out random knowledge and all that medical stuff."

Fran hesitated a little, before replying, "W-Well, I like to read lots of books, a-and when I was in school I studied medicine and first aid s-so that's how I know how to treat a shoulder injury."

"Then why work here? Why not become a nurse in training or something?"

"Well... Y'see... I'm scared of hospitals. I don't like the smell, the look, it's just... Creepy. To me anyway. So I instead use my medical knowledge to help any friends that, for example, have pulled a muscle or twisted an ankle, o-or something like that anyway. I-It isn't much, but... I like to help others out h-however I can." There's a slight pause before Fran talked again. "So, uh... W-What made you do all of this?"

Maya tilted her head a little. "What do you mean? Coming home?"

"W-Well yes, but, uh.. The other stuff too. Learning kung fu, going to Japan, coming back home... I-It all seems like quite a lot to do for no reason."

"It's for my brother," Maya quickly responded, "my brother and myself. I didn't want to be weak, so I jumped at the opportunity to do kung fu when I got the chance. And... I couldn't stand the thought of my brother getting hurt again. I wanted to be able to protect him. But that didn't really work out; seems me moving to Japan, to get extra training, hurt him more than any physical attack could."

"I... I guess that's a valid reason to want to do what you've done. ... In a way, you do have more than your brother as family. Dominic is like family to you, right? He acts that way, at least," Fran stated, becoming less nervous as she reasons with the lioness. When she received a shrug in response, Fran continued. "The others seem to care too y'know. And since you took their constant asking of you to stay out of fights to heart, I'd be willing to bet you see them as family too. Or at least as friends."

With a little sigh, the lioness warrior looks over at her sort of friend; she and Fran hadn't exactly spoken since Maya first arrived, either because Fran was too shy or Maya just wasn't there for her to talk to. And yet, despite that, she was still being nice to the Pai Zhua student and even giving her some food for thought. "I... I guess you're right. I never thought about it that way." She smiled a little, and Fran smiled back.

The surveillance system alarm makes both the girls jump, and they quickly look at the screen. Lightening was crackling along the floor of Dai Shi's temple entrance, something which Maya remembered RJ told her to alert them about. "Oh no! I gotta warn them!" She garbled as she hurriedly scrambled for the headset and put it on, before chucking another headset at Fran for her to use. "Hello? Can you guys hear me?"

"Loud and clear Maya," Casey responded, making Maya sigh with relief.

* * *

Casey tensed up as his worst fear was confirmed by Maya's worried sounding voice. "I just saw lightening! I think the spirit rangers are on their way! Be on your guard! Also I have Fran with me."

"H-Hi guys. Here to help." The red ranger chuckled as he heard the slightly nervous voice of his friend communicating to them.

"Thanks Fran. Which camera did you guys see the lightening on?"

"Camera 45, the one outside Dai Shi"s temple. You might not have much time until they arrive, but at least it's some sort of sign. By the way, do you guys know where the camera is? Can you see it? Because I haven't seen any of you on the camera ever since you left the loft."

RJ pointed to the northeast of where they all stood, and through the various trees and various leaves, allowing the team to catch a glimpse that was hidden. "Y'see the red light? That's the camera. If we can get near it, Maya and Fran should be able to see us and the fight that's probably going to be ensuing any moment now." The five walked over in the direction RJ pointed, and promptly heard am "Ah ha!" Through the communication system. "Haha, see us now?"

"Yea, we see yo- oh no. LOOK OUT, BEHIND YOU!"

Maya's shrieks alerted the team, and all of them quickly turned around. Lightening crackled along the floor, before dispersing. Like moths to a flame, the spirit rangers swarmed the group almost immediately after the lightening vanished, and began to fight them.

"Split them up!" Fran shouted through the communicator. With a nod of agreement, RJ began to fight the bat spirit ranger, and managed to move back away from the others. He attempted to strike the wolf ranger's helmet, stomach and chest with swift and sudden movements, with RJ either being hit or just barely being able to block the attack with his arms. RJ swung at the bat spirit ranger, only for his attack to be dodged, and when that failed he quickly followed through with multiple quick kicks. One kick, dodged, second kick, blocked, third kick, blocked again... And then an arm strike to the chest knocked RJ backwards, stumbling. Just as he recovered, having been somewhat caught off guard, the bat spirit ranger attacked with a strong kick to the chest, sending the wolf ranger flying and sprawling out onto the floor. "RJ!" As the master groaned and tried to recover, he heard the shrieks of the two girls in his ears, frantic and worried.

Dominic only got a brief glance at RJ getting beaten up by the bat spirit ranger, before quickly ducking and dodging a one-two punch attack from the elephant spirit ranger. He quickly kicked in retaliation, hoping to knock his foe off his feet with the powerful strike. But the spirit ranger didn't even wobble when he blocked it. Dom tried again with a low sweeping kick, but the elephant spirit ranger jumped and avoided it, before dodging the oncoming swing as the rhino ranger desperately slashed at his foe with the rhino blade attached to his morpher. As the blade hit a tree, sparks flew everywhere and caused a semi-large explosion. As Dominic swung his blade again, the spirit ranger stopped it with a swift move of his arm, and with a burst of sonic energy, Dom got flung away and sent crashing into a tree, and while his helmet protected him for the most part, he was still very shaken up and dizzy. "Dom! No!" As Dom looked up at his for, he not only heard Fran's terrified voice, but he remembered a few days ago; when Camille was in the same position as he was, dizzy and weak.

Casey, Lily and Theo meanwhile were too busy fighting the shark spirit ranger to even see their friends getting thrown about like colourful ragdolls. Despite there being three of them and one of him, the spirit ranger was able to quickly block any punches or kicks the rangers attempted to hit him with. With a sharp jab to the chest, he sent Casey sprawling out onto the floor. He watched as Lily and Theo got caught in an arm lock with the shark spirit ranger, trying to stop him from attacking them too. The red ranger scrambled to his feet, and called out to his friends. "Guys! Let's do this!"

"Right!" Quickly, they knocked the shark spirit ranger back and rolled swiftly underneath his arms, ending up to the left and right of Casey. With a mighty cry of "Claw Cannon! Powered by animal spirits!", their weapon formed in their arms, and the three began to charge it with the elephant, shark and bat spirits that their masters had taught them; the only things that gave them solace and comfort knowing their spirits were still alive. The spirits all cried out together, eager to fight the control that had their owners captive and forced to fight against their wills, before vanishing as the cannon became fully charged.

"I hope this works..." Lily mumbled, worried. In the background, they could now see the other fights going on clear as day, with RJ being mercilessly beaten up by the bat spirit ranger, and Dominic struggling against the elephant spirit ranger.

Casey gripped the handle of the claw cannon tightly, hesitant. He still didn't want to do this, he still hoped that somehow a miracle would occur and allow them to not risk the lives of any of the masters... But as the shark spirit ranger slowly made his way over, as time seemed to almost halt for the three, he realised he had no choice. "Hold it steady... Don't hit the wrong target," he advised in an almost shaky voice.

RJ, struggling to hold off the bat spirit ranger, turned to the three students. "Rangers! Fire, hurry!" He urged desperately, before dodging another attack from his enemy.

"Guys, do it. Fire the cannon, " Maya's voice said through the communicators, "think about what we said earlier. About Master Finn preferring to be destroyed if it was for the good of the world. You know he would want that. I know it too." Despite her attempt to sound confident, her voice wavered, like she was having a hard time talking. Lily was the only one who could guess she was crying.

Hidden by his helmet, Casey bit his lip and closed his eyes. "Right... Sorry, Master." He inhaled deeply... And pushed the handle into the cannon, firing. "FIRE!"

* * *

Maya made her way through the forest, a black leather jacket keeping her warm, half running and half trying to take it easy. After the bright light of the claw cannon hit the shark spirit ranger, the camera went down and stopped showing any footage as well as having no sound. To make things worse, the communication system went down too, meaning Maya couldn't hear the rangers and they couldn't hear her. So much spirit energy caused the systems to shut down completely, though only temporarily. But Maya couldn't wait for the systems to come back online, nor could she wait for the team to return to the loft.

So she went to the location herself.

As soon as she saw a brief flash of red and purple, Maya began to sprint as fast as her body would let her, and she burst through the trees similarly to how the spirit rangers spontaneously appeared just a few minutes prior. After practically screeching to a halt, she looked at her friends before her. "Oh... Oh thank goodness you guys are still okay. The communication lines went down, and I couldn't wait for you to return home."

"Well, thanks for being concerned about us," Lily said in a gentle tone despite her heart pounding like crazy in her chest.

"Any sign of Master Finn? Is he okay? How will we know?"

Incoming footsteps from another source alerted the six, and they looked to see Camille making her way through the smoke, walking in an almost sassy manner. "I think I can answer that ~" she said with a smirk on her face. "You destroyed a spirit ranger. Congratulations. Guess what? You also destroyed your Master Finn~"

RJ felt sick to his stomach as his eyes widened in horror and shock. He felt ill. He felt dizzy. He felt like he was going to collapse at any moment, either that or suddenly burst into tears. He wasn't the only one who felt unwell so suddenly; Casey too was feeling a sudden wave of nausea, causing him to have to lean on his friends for support. Maya also felt sick to her stomach as tears threatened to spill from her eyes similar.

"Oh no, RJ..." Flit buzzed as he watched his friend go pale. Camille looked at RJ herself, and sighed. She gave them a look of pity, before turning away; even though she disliked these rangers, even though they were being a pain to her and her Master, and even though she especially disliked Master Finn and his son... She felt bad for them. All of them, even RJ, were still just young by her standards. Still barely able to understand the world she herself had lived in for ten thousand years. A death like this was no doubt a shock to their systems.

"Flit, come. Let's go," she said flatly, and he obediently flew to her side, landing on her shoulder.

As Camille vanished into the smoke the same way she appeared from it, the forest became haunting and silent, as only voices on the wind could be heard.


	11. Chapter 10 - Spirit

_Maya watched as the colourful little fish darted about the pond, swimming about without a care in the world. She liked to try and count how many were in the pond, but she had yet to come to a conclusion as whenever she tried to count, some would hide under lilypads and then reappear a few moments later, causing her to lose count. 19, 21, 18, 25, each day she would get a different number from the last. It didn't annoy her too much though: they were just fish being fish._

 _"What are you doing over here?" The young student yelped and turned around as she heard a male voice from behind her. She didn't relax at all when she saw it was one of the Pai Zhua Masters, one dressed in blue and beige and with a belt holding two long and sharp swords of some kind, standing there with a firm expression and stance. "Shouldn't you be in lessons right now, cub?"_

 _"I-I should. But I'm not."_

 _"That I can see. You're one of the new students who arrived earlier this week, correct?" He asked, taking a few steps closer to her._

 _She nodded. "Yea. I am. M-My brother came here 4 years ago, when we were both 9." Despite how the Master had relaxed his previously stern and tense posture, the student was still a little afraid and worried he would punish and attack her._

 _"Making you 13 now." Maya nodded again, and the Master smiled softly. "My son would be 24 if he was still around." When her eyes widened, the Master cursed under his breath. "No, no he isn't dead. Don't look so frightened. He left, a month ago actually. He went to pursue his own path in life. I wish I could say it was on more positive terms, though." He pulled a sad expression for a few moments, then walked closer. "Why did you leave your lesson?"_

 _Maya bit her lip and relaxed her body, now feeling a little pity for the Pai Zhua Master. "I-I was startled... Everyone was staring at me and acting strange. I-I felt uncomfortable, so... I ran away. I-It seemed like the best thing to do," she stammered nervously. She expected him to be angry, to scold her for being afraid.. But instead he smiled warmly._

 _"Ah, I see. It's understandable why you would be so frightened and uncomfortable. You're new, after all. I don't think their behaviour was malicious though. I think they're just... Curious about you. Getting used to you being there," he explained gently," they're not being mean to you and making you feel uncomfortable on purpose."_

 _"Y-You think so?"_

 _"I think so." The Master stopped walking, and looked into the pond. "... This is the calmest place to go in the academy, I believe. Just you and the fish, with the sun and clouds watching over you from above. Sometimes I like counting the fish." He chuckled a little before adding, "I have never gotten it right, and I doubt I ever will. They move around too much." Maya giggled and smiled. He smiled back. "What's your name, cub?"_

 _"M-Maya Jones."_

 _He held out his hand for her to shake. "Nice to meet you, Maya. I'm Master Finn."_

* * *

Scorch walked hastily into the the throne room, where Dai Shi waited upon his throne once again, Snapper and Whiger stood at the stairs to the throne on either side, and Camille hid behind a pillar near the main entrance to throne room, cautious about being anywhere near Scorch after their little encounter that morning. "Dai Shi," he began in his gruff voice, "Master Finn has not actually been destroyed! His spirit was instead captured in the crystal eye much like mine was for ten thousand years." As he said this, Scorch revealed the crystal eye in his hand, that shone a little in the candlelight. "The starlight that could save him passed many nights ago. He is trapped in there, forever!"

Dai Shi leaned forward in his throne, both interested and grinning like a predator who had caught their pray. "Put it where it will never be found," he snarled, before leaning back in his throne once again, pleased with the progress they had made. One Pai Zhua Master down, and by the hands of their own students.

With the snap of his fingers, Unidoom teleported into the throne room with the use of Rinzin, and without even bothering to look at the soldier he summoned Scorch gave Unidoom the crystal eye. "Cast this into the sea," he ordered, receiving a brief "Yes general!" In response as the phantom beast took the crystal eye and stormed out of the entrance with it firmly in his hand. From her hiding place, Camille smirked a little: she didn't even have to raise a finger to rid of one of the frustrating Pai Zhua. She was glad it was Master Finn who was captured. That was what he deserved after foiling her plans and causing her shame.

Above her, hidden in the ceiling rafters, was Flit. He buzzed around worriedly, muttering "Oh no, oh no, this isn't good!" Over and over to himself. While nobody was looking, he flew away as quick as a hummingbird through the large doors while they were still open, and from a distance, he followed Unidoom.

Snapper turned to Dai Shi, as the large doors closed behind the phantom beast. "We only have two spirit rangers now, my king," he said in an irritated tone, "do we go ahead with the attack when they have regained their strength? Or do we perhaps take another one? A student?"

Dai Shi paused and began to think on the matter. It was unfortunate they were now down a spirit ranger, but even on their own he knew the spirit rangers were very powerful. On the other hand, capturing one of the Power Rangers... Now they were powerful. Perhaps this time, if he were to capture **her** again, he may have more control and-

His thoughts were cut off by an enraged yell, but it didn't come from any of those before him. It came from Jarrod. _"Don't you dare bring Maya back into this. I won't let you lay a finger on her after what happened the last time."_

Dai Shi growled a little, but... The human did have a point. It was the lioness who weakened him. Simply her name caused him to lose control if only for a few moments. While she was strong like he was, he learnt that from the fight against her, her real strength seemed to be just existing in the same world as them. Capturing her, being in each others presence, would no doubt make him weaker. No... He could not deal with her himself. He had to get her out of the way though. Sometime soon, as well.

"We will focus on what we have now. The spirit rangers are powerful, having only two isn't a problem. Ensure they are ready for the next use, we need them at full strength," the king ordered, glaring at his minions.

"Yes, Dai Shi!" Scorch, Snapper and Whiger bowed, before leaving the throne room to go prepare the spirit rangers once more, their loud footsteps echoing in the corridors until they were far enough away for the sound to no longer be audible. Dai Shi took a deep breath, and rested his head in his hands as he exhaled and sighed, relaxing his body. From the shadows, Camille quietly walked over to him, her heels making a soft clicking sound with each careful step.

"My lord? Would you like some company?"

* * *

Lily made her way up the stairs and into the loft, which was eerily silent. The only sounds were Casey bouncing a basketball up and down, and Maya punching and kicking a punching bag, having been insistent on getting some training in despite any pain she felt while she was doing said training. As Lily reached her friends, however, they all stopped and turned to her.

"Well? Did you find him?" Asked Casey, his voice softer than usual.

Lily nodded, but her expression remained one of sadness and guilt. "I did, but... He needs more time. This is taking a strong toll on him."

"Understandably so," Maya muttered, keeping her voice quiet as well much like the others. The silence, however, was interrupted by the security system which blared to life with beeps and alarms going off.

"Time is the one thing we don't have!" Theo groaned as he looked at his friends.

Casey nodded. "C'mon. Let's do this."

"Wait!" Called out Maya, as her friends began to make their way out into the city. "Should I stay here? In case RJ returns and finds the loft completely empty?"

Dom looked at her and nodded. "If you don't mind doing that anyway."

"I don't mind," his friend responded with a cheeky grin, "Let's me practice a bit more! This shoulder of mine ain't gonna stop me getting involved in more fights!"

"Just don't force yourself," Lily reminded the lioness, "if you need to rest, if your shoulder is seriously hurting, then you should stop and relax for a bit."

Maya directed her cheeky smile at the yellow ranger, before responding "Alright, I will. Just go out there and fight, and contact me if you need backup. I'll only fight if I feel like I need to. That's a good improvise, right?"

"Right." Lily smiles back gently. "Come on team, let's go." Maya watched as Casey, Theo, Lily and Dominic grabbed ahold of a vine, and swung into a tunnel, Casey and Lily going one way and Dominic and Theo heading down another. She chuckled to herself, before turning back around and beginning to practice fighting techniques on the punching bag. Flipkicks, attack combos, one-two-three strikes. Japan had taught her more moves to make her stronger. Of course, true strength for her was always following her heart and animal spirit.

Her heart was tugging her two ways; run back to the temple and save her brother, or listen to his final wishes and staying away. She wanted to help him so badly, wanted to bring him home, hold him close and tell him everything was going to be alright... But she knew that would be hard. Dai Shi held her brother in an iron grip, a stranglehold she had only barely managed to break him from the last time they encountered each other. And even then, she had already ended up with an injury by the time he came to, an injury that had caused her troubles and doubts already.

So she decided to wait. Wait until she was stronger, wait until Dai Shi was weaker. Wait until maybe, just maybe, someone else decided to go and save Jarrod themselves.

* * *

Maya was alerted of RJ arriving at the loft by his faint footsteps as he came up the stairs. She thought the sound of her hitting the punching bag would be audible for him; however, he seemed surprised to see her there in the loft when he arrived there. Maybe it was because she was training that he was surprised. Or maybe it was because she had gotten into a gold sports vest and black shorts to give her more flexibility when training. Or maybe he just wasn't expecting her to be there. That seemed like the smartest answer.

"Maya?"

"Oh, hi RJ! I was beginning to wonder if you were ever coming back! Good to see you're alright." The lioness looked at the wolf master fondly and with a sympathetic expression. "Had some time to think? Clear your head?"

RJ just shook his head, and walked over to his chair, not bothering too say anything about why Maya had removed her shoulder bandage and wrapped it around her hands. She watched him walk on over to his cosy armchair, but just as he was going to sit down, a loud buzzing followed by a high pitched cry of "RJ! My friend!" Alerted both student and master of Flit, flying down from the ceiling.

"Flit? What are you doing here?" RJ asked the fly, confused.

"Aw, he's kinda cute! Hi there Flit!" Maya gushed as she dashed on over to get a closer look of the little creature who had now hovered down onto the back of RJ's armchair.

"Hello Maya! Good to finally meet you! I have something for you both! I brought you the crystal eye!" Flit gabbled excitedly, nudging forward the shiny emerald eye before looking at RJ. "Your father, he wasn't destroyed! He spirit was captured inside the eye!"

Shocked, RJ carefully picked up the eye in fear of dropping it and causing it to shatter into a million pieces. "Captured...?"

"Like the Phantom Beasts?" Maya asked.

Flit nodded, buzzing happily "Correct! Dai Shi had one of his minions throw it into the sea so nobody could ever find it! But I caught it for you my friend!" He sounded so proud of himself, so happy at what he had accomplished. But RJ just sighed and sat down in the armchair, looking at the crystal eye he held in his hand.

"Even if that was true, it's too late. The Starlight's passed, what can I do? How can I save him when the only way to save him is-"

"RJ." Flit interrupted. "You and your father are Pai Zhua Masters. There are no problems you cannot solve, only ones you cannot solve... Yet. Now, I'm afraid I must go back to Camille. She'll get suspicious if I'm gone for too long. Although, she's been sneaking out a lot herself. She seems to get more worried than anything else."

Maya gently pat Flit on his little head. "She must care about you then. You seem like such a sweet little thing!"

"Aw, you're too kind Maya. I can't say if Camille cares for me, she seems to act like she only cares for your brother. Or, her master. Or one of the two. I can't tell which is which anymore." Flit flapped his little wings and began to hover, before continuing to talk. "But anyway! I gotta go! Good luck, my friend!" And with that, he flew off through an open window.

"Thanks Flit," RJ called after the fly.

"See you around!" Maya called also, waving a little to the cute little creature. Turning to look at the wolf master, she noticed how he looked less sad now and more... Thoughtful. Like Flit had caused the cogs in his mind to start turning, ideas beginning to take shape every second. "RJ? Are you okay?"

"There are no problems you cannot solve... You're a Pai Zhua Master..." He muttered to himself, thinking carefully over Flit's words. He closed his eyes, and remembered.

* * *

 _RJ relaxed as he meditated on his mat. The loft was quiet, and everyone was fast asleep. The only sounds came from Maya as she mumbled in her sleep, and Casey who quietly snored in his hammock, comfortable and cosy. It was late, but RJ had found that meditating before going to bed, even for 5 or 10 minutes, allowed him to get to sleep a lot quicker. He wasn't an insomniac, he didn't end up staying awake until 3am the next day, but he did find himself having some trouble dozing off some nights. He had also found a new love recently: scented candles, and that those combined with meditation allowed him to almost fall asleep sitting up._

 _And yet, despite his meditation, despite having a strawberry scented candle to his left and a chocolate scented candle on his right... He was uneasy._

 _Ever since his father had been captured, he had been on edge. Fighting the Spirit Rangers gave him relief, as for a brief moment he saw his father, staring at him helplessly through the Shark Ranger helmet, but it was only for a moment. Master Finn was still in Dai Shi's hands, and would remain that way until he was freed. And when they figured out that Maya too had been kidnapped, his worries only escalated. RJ barely knew Maya, she had only been around a day or two, but he knew she had been through a lot with her brother. The tall, threatening man he fought not too long ago seemed like just a facade the more he thought about it: that wasn't the student he fought. It was Dai Shi. But at the same time, according to Casey, Lily and Theo, Jarrod was known as a scary, arrogant guy. RJ couldn't tell the difference between the two anymore. All he knew was that Maya loved her brother with all her heart, and with him being the only family she really had left, he couldn't blame her._

 _Even though they had left each other on sour terms, RJ did still love his dad. He was all the wolf master had to call family now._

 _" **RJ..."**_

 _An echoed voice made his eyes open slowly, partially frightened of who it was. It sounded like it was nearby to him, like whoever it was calling his name was very close right now, almost unnaturally so. He looked around a little, wondering where the voice had come from. It sounded like.. His dad. But... How could that be? He was-_

 _The wolf master's eyes suddenly locked onto the ghostly figure, just inches in front of him. The figure was very faint, but he knew right away who it was despite the blue hue and the fact he could see the wall behind the spirit._

 _" **RJ. You must take the risk,"** Master Finn instructed his son, an expression of both determination and exhaustion upon his ghostly face as he looked at his confused child. How it hurt to not be able to reach out and comfort him, how he ached to be there just a little bit longer to help him more. But as a weakened spirit, all the shark master could do was beg his son for help. **"You will find the answer. I know you will, son."**_

 _As the spirit faded, RJ exhaled the breath he had been holding since he first laid his eyes onto the spirit of his father. He was trembling, he couldn't help it. He wasn't sure what to do, what to think. Take the risk? What did he mean? Take what risk? When will he have to take that risk?_

 _Then it clicked. Taking another deep breath, he looked over at the Claw Cannon._


	12. Chapter 11 - Protector

"RJ, you sure you know what you're doing?" Maya ran beside the wolf master as they made their way across the beach, to the small humble shack hidden amongst the soft sand, pretty shells and beautiful blue sea. "Is this what your dad meant?"

He nodded briefly. "Its gotta be, there's no other way to free him otherwise. He has to have captured some of the starlight, he must have suspected something like this would happen. He's always been one for backup plans." He surged on ahead, a feeling of desperation weighing down his spirit and mind. With a small groan, Maya tried to keep up, but ended up falling behind. By the time she had reached Master Finn's little seaside home, RJ was already clearing space on the work desk and placing the shiny crystal eye there. She looked over his shoulder, then turned to face the master beside her.

"... What do we do? If this doesn't work?" She asked shakily. He didn't respond, but from the expression he bore and the soft sigh he made, the lioness deduced he had no plan B if plan A fell flat on its face.

Carefully, RJ adjusted the telescope-like object, and aimed it at the crystal eye, his hands still shaking. Without saying anything to Maya, he removed the plug from the front. An explosion of silvery light burst forth from the object, causing Maya and RJ to shield their eyes. The beautiful sparkling light envelops the crystal eye, and through a small gap between the fingers that shield his face RJ can just make out a turquoise figure forming amongst the glowing, vibrant starlight. As quickly as it had appeared, the silvery flash vanished... And in its place, stood Master Finn.

RJ could hardly breathe. "Dad...!"

Maya practically shrieked in joy as Master Finn looked at the two of them, and opened his arms. RJ was first, hugging his father tight as a huge smile had since formed on his face and happiness bubbled up to the surface to replace the fear he once had. "RJ! You figured it out!" The shark master exclaimed joyfully, relieved to not only be free, but to be able to hold his son close.

"Well, I had the help of a few friends," responded RJ, finally able to find his tongue and speak, grin still stuck on his face.

"We all need a little now and again, I think we've both realised that by now." With a soft chuckle, Master Finn turned to Maya. Still smiling like his son, he opened his arms once again. "Don't think I forgot about you."

"Master Finn!" The lioness hugged the man tight, overjoyed to see the master was safe and alive. "You're okay! I'm so sorry I couldn't come and save you-!"

Master Finn shook his head. "Now now, don't go blaming yourself Maya. You can only do so much. Besides, it is I who should have been coming to save you. WE should have come to save you." He rested a hand gently on her shoulder, which had been bandaged up once again by RJ, despite Maya's complaints. "How badly did he hurt you? Is it broken?"

"Oh no! No, it's not broken, I've just pulled it pretty bad. It's also got a nasty bruise. Kinda got thrown into a wall. But I'm alright, I swear. Don't blame yourself for what happened. You, Master Phant and Master Swoop were weak, and the phantom beasts were guarding you." Maya paused. "... How about we just say we both didn't do a very good job?" She suggested with a small smile creeping onto her youthful, perky face. Master Finn laughed a little, happy to see that Maya is learning not to blame herself too much.

The happiness faded fast, when RJ's morpher began to beep wildly. His smile vanished as he looked at the purple wolf morpher wrapped firmly around his wrist. Pressing a button, Casey's panicked voice caused fear to rush back into all three of them. "RJ! We're taking a beating here! Bring Maya with you too, we're gonna need all the help we can get!"

"We're on our way! Hang in there guys!" RJ said worriedly as he spoke into the morpher, before pressing the small button once again to mute the communication. As he began to head off, with Maya in tow, Master Finn stopped them suddenly, putting a hand in front of the wolf master to halt him and grabbing the lioness by the arm gently.

"RJ, Maya... The only way to save your friends is to rescue the other masters. We can do that, I know my way to the temple and I'll bet anything you two do as well. Well, I know you do RJ. Maya...?"

Maya nodded firmly. "Yea, I know my way. Kinda. But..." She faltered. "I don't think I can face my brother again. Not after the last time. He wanted me to stay away from the temple so I don't get hurt again, and I wanna listen to his wishes whether they end up being his last or not."

RJ looked at Master Finn worriedly. Despite her strength they both knew Maya wouldn't be safe on her own, not after the last time when she went to take Master Phant's niece to a dance contest, and ended up with a damaged shoulder. But they also knew Maya was stubborn, RJ knew that especially well given how she had been so insistent on fighting despite her injury, and as a result she was going to do as her brother had asked no matter what they tried to say to talk her out of being on her own.

It was Master Finn who came up with the solution to their issue. "Come with us Maya, but guard the way in," he suggested, "Make sure no beasts get to us. That way you're helping, but you're also not going against your brother's wishes. And if you get into trouble, you can scream and one of us will come to help you. How does that sound?"

Maya bit her lip, trying to think clearly despite everything happening so fast. To her, it sounded like a good idea, but she was concerned about running into her brother or the phantom beast generals. Still, it also sounded like they weren't intending to burst through the main hall, though where else they could go through to reach inside the temple she had no clue. After a few moments of thinking, the student nodded. "Okay. Yea, that's a good plan. Let's get going then! Lead the way!" With an encouraging smile Maya moved out the way, and when Master Finn ran past her with RJ by his side, she ran with them, a rush of excitement flowing through her as the daring rescue mission unfolded.

* * *

Like a wall protecting a city, Rin Shi were lined up at the gateway to Dai Shi's dark temple. They had clearly sensed the arrival of RJ, Maya and Master Finn, and yet they moved around almost in a strange twitchy way, as if they couldn't see them just yet. However when the three of them quickened their pace and began to charge, they all suddenly straightened up and faced directly at the trio. Master Finn clutched his shark sabres, RJ's hands were clenched into semi-open fists, and Maya had summoned golden and black energy which flowed through her hands, covering them like flaming gloves. And as they reached the arch, the Rin Shi surged forward to initiate the fight.

RJ flipped forward quickly and kicked a few close Rin Shi away, giving the other two a few more seconds to get close. Master Finn dashed to the left of RJ, slicing at the footsoldiers before him, while Maya booked it to the right of the wolf master and began to knock back Rin Shi with small blasts of energy, and slashing foes who got too close to her. There was a limit to the amount of foot soldiers that seemed to be guarding the path to the temple, but those that were there swarmed the three like moths to a flame. They had to be quick: the longer they were, the weaker their friends became, and the more likely they were to be destroyed by their enemies.

As he got surrounded, RJ began to move even faster, knocking Rin Shi away with punches and kicks, even using his elbows to harshly shove those who got behind him. Performing low kicks, his leg swept under those of the Rin Shi, and any who didn't jump were knocked down to the floor due to a lack of balance, and those who remained standing them received sharp kicks to the chest to knock them away. Master Finn sliced through the Rin Shi like a knife through butter, sharply turning behind him and then forward once again several times to attack the footsoldiers that came to attack him from both sides, catching some off guard. With a final spinning slice attack, the Rin Shi surrounding him fell. Maya jumped in the air, and when she landed she caused a minor shockwave with her energy that sent most the Rin Shi surrounding her flying away and dissolving into dark purple dust that vanished almost as quickly. Those who remained were treated to sudden blasts as she pushed a hand against each Rin Shi's chest and knocked them back, and one after another they all fell to the floor. The three looked at each other, and nodded. Master Finn took off again, followed by his son and the student as they made their way towards Dai Shi's temple.

But as they ran, a sharp hand grabbed Maya by the arm, and dragged her back causing her to scream. Master Finn and RJ halted, and turned around to see Scorch, grabbing Maya firmly, looming over her. "Well well, what do we have here?" He growled in a mocking tone, his claws digging into Maya's flesh. "I didn't think you would return, Lioness. Nor did I expect you to bring some company." The phantom beast laughed menacingly. "I will finish off what Dai Shi could not!"

RJ began to rush over, but to his surprise Maya shouted at him. "No! Go get the Masters! I'll be fine!" She urged, a look of desperation on her face.

"But-"

"I said go! I can take him on!"

RJ flinched, and tensed up. He didn't want this to happen, this was what they were trying to avoid! But it seemed fate had destined her path to cross with Scorch once more. With a small, sad nod, RJ turned away and ran off with Master Finn.

"No you don't!" Scorch snarled, before sending blasts of powerful Rinzin towards the path which the shark and wolf masters ran down. Ducking their heads a little, the two of them just continued to run, barely missing the blasts they felt explode right behind them. He groaned, irritated, before throwing Maya to the ground as he remembered that while two has escaped, he had still caught his target, his prey who was now shaking beneath him on the floor. He laughed. "Foolish girl. You think you can beat me?! What a joke!"

She inhaled sharply as the golden beast loomed over her, mocking her and taunting her.

* * *

 _"C'mon kid! Give us your money!" The boy laughed as he shoved Maya into the jungle gym, causing her to bang her head against a metal bar and cry out in pain. Slowly, she slid to the floor, relieved to be met with semi-soft bark beneath her. Whimpering, the young girl curled up into a ball and protected her bag with her body. "Aw, is little kitty cat not gonna fight? What's the matter? Cat got your tongue! Ha!"_

 _The boy and his friends laughed as they began to kick the trembling girl, waiting for her to open up and reveal her bag to them like a clam revealing its pearl. But she clung to it desperately, refusing to give it up. She knew the pain wouldn't stop until she gave them what they wanted. But she couldn't. That money was for lunch, so she could eat. She couldn't give it up._

 _"What a joke! And I thought you kids who learnt Kung Fu were supposed to be tough!" Mocked the boy, grabbing her by the hair and throwing her about some more for good measure. "Give us the money brat! Now!"_

 _Maya whined and cried as she curled up tighter, desperate and afraid. She wanted to fight back! She wanted to prove she was strong, that she could beat them! But... She couldn't. She had to follow the Pai Zhua code. She wanted to follow the Pai Zhua code. It was the right thing to do._

 _She didn't see the two bright spirits, a black lion and a black lioness, scare off the bullies. She didn't feel them curl around her little body and protect her fiercely. An_ _d the only thing she heard was Jarrod's terrified voice, yelling her name from somewhere in the distance._

 _"Maya!"_

* * *

"W-What the-?! How are you doing that?!"

Maya opened her eyes, and stared at the phantom beast. In the time she had remembered the event from her past, she had gotten to her feet much to Scorch's surprise. And by her sides, two animal spirits were slowly forming from somewhere. Energy flowed from her body. She felt powerful. She felt alive. Any pain had vanished. From somewhere in the distance, she heard his voice again. Calling to her.

 _'I won't let him hurt you. Let's do this together.'_

"This world is my home. It's not much, but it's enough for me. Its enough for everyone else who lives here. I WON'T let you take it away from us! Not while I can still breathe!" She growled, her eyes lit with what could only be described as a burning flame of sheer determination and love. Love for the world she lives in, for the home she knows and cares about, for the people who have shown her love and kindness. "It isn't just about myself and my brother now. It's my duty to protect the world, and those who live here. To protect the weak from danger, to be their shield against those who try to hurt them. That is the reason I fight! That is why I won't let you win!" She took on an attack stance, and as she did her lioness armour formed on her figure, preparing her for battle. "With the heart of the lioness! Black Lioness Warrior!" With a powerful roar, the two spirits that stood either side of the warrior fully manifested. To her left was her own spirit, the black lioness. To her right, her brother's spirit, the black lion. Both shone with a faint golden glow, and both were ready to defend Maya and take down the phantom beast general that stood before them.

For a few brief seconds, Scorch was afraid. They were right, her strength was like that of their king. But he wasn't going to be defeated. He was a phantom beast general and no simple human girl would defeat him! "Hah! Fine then! If you're so confident, bring it on!" He taunted, also taking an attack stance as he summoned his Rinzin. As he let out a battle cry, sounding like a mix between the roar of a big cat and the screech of an eagle, Scorch charged with his claws bared.

As he went to strike her, arm outstretched, Maya blocked him by grabbing ahold of his arm and twisting it as she made use of his weakness. Shaking her off him, Scorch had to react fast as she slashed at his face in an attempt to stun him, an attack he was only barely able to dodge. He tried again to strike her injured shoulder, but she swiftly moved to the left to avoid him. However, this proved to be fatal as Scorch suddenly elbowed her hard in the face, causing her to recoil and stumble backwards into a tree. Her visor was cracked slightly, and she knew that while it could take a few more hits it would eventually break, and she would be left vulnerable as it regenerated and put itself back together slowly. As she looked up, the warrior saw that he was charging for her with one arm flowing with Rinzin. With a swift last second dodge, she flung herself behind the tree and caused him to strike the tree instead, causing him to screech again in irritation and teleport behind the tree where his foe had hidden herself. Laughing, Scorch grabbed Maya by the neck, and threw her back towards the dirt path, and with a cry of pain Maya found herself once again on the floor, back to the red arch which stood proud above her. She tried to send small blasts of spirit energy in his direction as she was flung across the land, but she either missed or he just shook off the weak attack.

Scorch stauntered over, also very proud. "Ha! I told you! You're a joke! You call yourself a warrior, but you can barely hold your own! And now, I will finally get rid of you for good!" He mocked with a hint of pleasure in his voice. How he loved to see her in pain! How joyful it was to see her weak and vulnerable!

Unfortunately his gloating was his undoing. As he forgot about the powerful animal spirits which leapt at him from their hiding place, and knocked him to the floor with a simple strike. They were large and strong, and no matter how Scorch tried to strike back and attack these manifestations, he could not, giving enough time for Maya to get to her feet and summon more energy to her fingertips. She struck the floor, hands clenched firmly into fists, and the power was unleashed as spikes which struck the phantom beast general all over his body much like how she had attacked Dynamir the other day. Charging over, and with some help from the black lion spirit, Maya grabbed Scorch by the arms, and with a mighty roar, which she could have sworn seemed to echo in a deeper tone somehow, she launched him down the path towards the temple with a burst of bright spirit energy. Scorch rolled and tumbled, until he finally came to a stop as he crashed into another arch.

"I am no joke," Maya said with her head held high. "You will learn someday: humans can find strength even in the darkest of times." Scorch looked up at her, and shook his head.

"You're... You're wrong. Humans are weak and feeble creatures. You rely on the world too much, and rely too much on each other. You claim to be knowledgeable. Ha! You..." He paused to inhale sharply, before exhaling. The pain he felt throughout his body was something he hadn't felt before. "You barely know anything about the world. You'd rather live in your own little bubble forever."

He watched as the warrior shrugged and her visor vanished, disintegrating into golden dust. Maya stared at the creature before her, sprawled out on the ground in pain, defeated. "That is true. But its not about what we accomplish in our lives... But how we spend our time. I know that someday, I will pass on into the spirit world. But I refuse to let that weigh me down. I live my life to the fullest, live every moment like it could be my last. So what if I know barely anything? That shouldn't affect my happiness. I hope that one day, you and the other beasts will finally realise that." With that, she turned and began to walk away.

Scorch mustered up a growl. "Come back here! Finish the fight you coward!"

Maya stopped and looked over her shoulder at the phantom beast, long flaming hair flying in the soft breeze that had picked up during their fight. "... Nah. My friends need me now, and I gotta help them. And they are more important than you, by a mile and a half." She smirked a little. "I'm not one to seek revenge. I'm here to protect the weak and have a good time. Think on what I said. Perhaps maybe, there's hope for more than just two or three of you." Leaving a frustrated Scorch to struggle to his feet, Maya teleported away in a flash of golden lightening that crackled through the ground for a few seconds, before going silent and still.

As Maya found herself on the outskirts of the forest, she turned around completely and gazed at what was behind her. She looked at the deep purple skies that melted into a pale, perky blue. The trees with different shaded leaves, some darkened by shadows and others bright in the light of the sun. In the distance, she could see the temple standing tall above the forest. How thankful she was that this time, she had the strength and power to teleport away instead of run again like the last time. However, the wind had picked up a lot since she left the temple ground, causing her to shiver a little; her warrior armour wasn't great at keeping her warm.

With a soft smile, Maya looked down at her feet. There was a small puddle, presumably still there from the last time it rained. As she leaned over and looked at her reflection, she was surprised to see not her bright ginger hair and soft brown eyes, but instead messy short brown hair, and dark yet loving eyes. In the reflection, her brother smiled at her.

A warm breeze swept past her, soothing her cold trembling body.


	13. Chapter 12 - Battle

Screams echoed through the city, carried by powerful explosions as Casey, Lily, Theo and Dominic were flung high up into the air, before crashing back down to earth. Pain rushed through their bodies, despite their protective morphed state, and though they tried to get to their feet, they were out of breath and aching too much to even kneel much less stand. Unidoom laughed as he looked at the Power Rangers who lay before him: he felt so proud to be the only who was going to eliminate these threats to the king and to his kind. There was one more that was yet to be brought to their knees, one more rat to exterminate, but Unidoom would take care of him after this. Right now, he had four Rangers at his mercy, and he felt stronger than ever before.

"With you gone, the beasts shall rule the world!" He taunted gleefully, powering up another energy attack in his hands. He took aim, and with an evil laugh, blasted the Rangers.

Or rather, he would have, if two animal spirits that were very familiar to the Rangers hadn't blocked the shots entirely, with a mighty roar and a powerful howl. Both Unidoom and the Rangers were left in shock, as Maya and RJ charged over with confidence in their stride and determination to finish what had been started. As they stood strong in front of their friends, the animal spirits circled them proudly. "Stop right there!" They commanded together in perfect unison. "That's not gonna happen!"

Unidoom was stunned for a few moments, then scoffed. "I've already defeated four rangers! Two more isn't a challenge at all!"

A deep laugh came from Maya. "Then how's about this for a challenge?" She asked, as three very familiar rangers walked over, as if appearing from the shadows of looming buildings, and stood equally strong with Maya and RJ. The Spirit Rangers. Gasps rang out from their friends, but the wolf master and lioness student were unphased by this arrival. Unidoom even took a step back, surprised by the sudden appearance of those he assumed were his allies. But he had no time to dwell on that.

As though she too appeared from the shadows, Camille sauntered onto the battlefield and took her place beside Unidoom, her stance both firm and yet also of calmness. "That's nothing," she said with a smirk. "Here's a challenge for you." With the snap of her fingers and a demanding shout of "Rin Shi!", an army arose behind her and the phantom beast. Then, with a swift motion, she transformed into her armoured beast form, summoning her worryingly sharp and polished blades to her hands. 'Bring it on!" She taunted with an evil giggle, prepared to fight these menaces. Maya tensed up; she was dreading this moment. She didn't want to hurt Camille, not after how strangely KIND the woman had been to her when she doubted herself and her abilities. Once again, she wasn't sure what to do. She wanted to fight beside her new friends and protect the city from harm... But would that be worth breaking such a rare and fragile truce between mankind and beast?

A hand rested on her shoulder. Turning a little to her right, Maya saw Dominic standing firmly by her side. He could tell she was worried; not only did he know her well, but he remembered how determined she was to save Camille's life just days ago. "Don't worry," he said softly to her, "Let us deal with Camille. You focus on the Rin Shi."

"Alright. Thanks Dom."

"No problem."

The others now stood beside her, RJ and the Spirit Rangers. Energy mustered, pain pushed aside. The fight was about to commence between them and the armada the lay in front of the group.

"With the strength of the tiger, Jungle Fury Red Ranger!"

"With the stealth of a jaguar, Jungle Fury Blue Ranger!"

"With the speed of a cheetah, Jungle Fury Yellow Ranger!"

"With the courage of a wolf, Jungle Fury Wolf Ranger!"

"With the power of the rhino, Jungle Fury Rhino Ranger!"

"With the heart of the lioness, Black Lioness Warrior!"

"With the spirit of a bat, Jungle Fury Bat Ranger!"

"With the spirit of a shark, Jungle Fury Shark Ranger!"

"With the spirit of an elephant, Jungle Fury Elephant Ranger!"

Like stars in the sky, the group shone brighter than ever. They were stronger, they were united, and they were determined to win. Their words were powerful, brave, and yet also oddly heartwarming. "We summon the animal spirits from within! Power Rangers, Jungle Fury!" They cried out together in unison, smiles hidden behind their helmets for all but Maya who's bright, excited grin was on full display for the world to see due to her wearing a visor instead.

Camille went to an attack stance almost immediately, and with an almost angry cry of "Get them!" She charged forward, with Unidoom beside her and the wall of Rin Shi behind. With a powerful battlecry, the Pai Zhua students and masters rushed forth, and everyone split off into a different direction.

The masters were immediately swarmed by the Rin Shi, separating them from each other. But this was no issue at all. Master Phant knocked an attack away like it was an annoying bug, and with a sonic punch sent the attacking Rin Shi flying back and into a few that stood behind it, before vanishing into purple particles that seemed to shrink into nothing. Another attack was flung his way, and once again the elephant master knocked it back without breaking a sweat. As he recovered, one brave foot soldier went for the Master, knocking him back. But he stopped himself with a firm grip on the floor, and knocked two Rin Shi away as he was forced back a few steps by holding out his arms. Near by, Master Swoop could see his friend fighting off the foes that surrounded him. He himself was soaring through the sky avoiding blasts of concentrated fear energy that were being flung his way by the spearmen Rin Shi below. Deciding to go on the attack, he held out his arms like his Master friend to his left, and as he gracefully landed he took several Rin Shi down with him, knocking them away and turning them to fear particles. Turning around hastily, he swatted away attacks that were sent by those who dared to get too close; with swift punches and acrobatics, Master Swoop destroyed more footsoldiers who attempted to harm him, even daring to knock back enemies using their own weapons as well. To his right, an explosion was set off as Master Finn struck an explosive barrel that caused Rin Shi aplenty to go flying off in various directions. He himself was unphased by the explosion, jumping away just in time to avoid being damaged by it. Landing, more Rin Shi who survived the explosion came rushing forward and attempted to strike him, but the shark master was not deterred. With seemingly wild yet planned swings, his arms knocked them back before a quick strike to the chest finished them off. He continued to move with swift and fluid movements, kicking away one Rin Shi before striking another one down with a swift movement, practically faceplanting it into the floor.

Casey, Theo, Lily and Maya were also swarmed by the Rin Shi; however, unlike the Masters, they had fewer Rin Shi to deal with and weren't just using kicks and punches to deal damage. Casey flipped over an abandoned car (there was quite a few of those lying around), before using his Jungle Chucks to swipe at foes as well as strike a nearby barrel to cause yet another large explosion that, much like Master Finn, he was able to avoid being damaged by.

With a quick and sudden decision, Lily swung around her Jungle Bo in a full circle, barely dodging attacks as she did so, and swept the Rin Shi off their feet and onto the floor, sparks flying as she finished them off and struck a cool pose.

Theo kicked up a foot soldier that came close to him, and then struck it down fiercely with his trusty Jungle Tonfa. Quickly dodging a spearman Rin Shi, Theo cartwheeled off to the side, kicking foes down as he went before landing and striking again.

And just to the left of all of them was Maya, clawing at those surrounding her with hands that almost looked on fire with the black and gold energy she summoned. A sharp jab to her injured shoulder from a Rin Shi made her stumble back a step or two and wince sharply, but she recovered fast and sliced at the attacker down the middle, causing them to evaporate into purple particles of fear.

RJ made the move of tackling Camille as the others charged onwards, taking care of her so the others could fight both Unidoom and the Rin Shi that remained. With a fierce shove and a slicing motion, the chameleon warrior knocked her enemy away and flipped up onto her feet swiftly. Recovering, RJ jumped at her and swung down his arms in an attempt to slice at her. And while she held up her armoured arms and used those to protect her chest and block the attack, she still recoiled a little and stumbled a bit. When RJ tried to attack her shoulder with a swipe, she moved her right arm quickly and blocked, only to leave herself wide open as the wolf master struck her arm away. But she was not defeated yet, and neither was he. She moved her left arm and sliced at it with her sai, getting a wince from him as sparks flew from the attack. He ducked and removed his arms, and Camille attempted to strike at his shoulder, but similar to how she stopped his attack he promptly stopped hers by grabbing ahold of her arm. he threw her under his arm suddenly, surprising her temporarily, and struck her back. As she made a small whining sound, the beast woman turned around fast to attack back or at least to block any more incoming jabs or strikes. RJ smirked behind his helmet; he saw that coming.

With a triumphant cry of "HI-YAH!" he slammed his arm into her head and neck area, making her gasp and forcing her to back off, avoiding another attack with a small and crude flip. Following her, RJ swept down into a low kick at her feet, which she jumped over, following it up with a kick to her chest, that was blocked, and finally another low kick to the feet which didn't connect either. She was desperately fighting to dodge him, but thankfully her focus on not losing balance allowed him to suddenly and sharply kick her in the face area. Camille gasped again as a pain rushed through her body, reminiscent of when she slammed her head into the tree days prior, but she had to ignore it for now: the wolf master was trying to strike her again. Acting with no time to think, she ducked down to avoid it, only to look up and see RJ (who has just jumped up to gain some extra height and strength) had charged up a strong wolf spirit-powered kick. While she tried in vain to block it, shielding herself with her arms and sai, it wasn't enough. The kick landed, striking her shoulder first and then across her body to her waist. With a cry, Camille stumbled back and clutched her side that felt as though it had been stabbed due to the strength within that kick. And then another attack connected, a spirit-powered slash, from her other shoulder to her stomach. Crying out again in pain, the chameleon warrior could fight no longer. She lost balance entirely, and fell onto the floor, rolling until she hit a close by building wall.

Dominic was nearby, and cheered on RJ as he defeated Camille, before quickly turning back to the enemies that surrounded him. Without even having to try, he slashed through footsoldiers with his sharp rhino blade like they were nothing, knocking Rin Shi away with little effort. Purple fear particles flew everywhere as he defeated them one by one, slashing and striking anyone who got close. Looking over his shoulder, Dom saw a line of Rin Shi hopping over either with a spear or with no weapon at all like moths to a flame. With the press of a button, the fingers of his morpher began to fire quickly in the direction of the oncoming threat, and blasted them to the floor.

With an angry cry, Unidoom raised his blades and began to channel his energy. The shiny silver blades glowed golden in a matter of seconds, and with a shout of "Rinzin Power!" he sent shockwaves and strikes flying towards the oncoming Spirit Rangers, who were now charging him down with their weapons held firmly in their hands. These attacks did nothing to stop them, however; the masters were too determined to be shaken by this phantom beast, too determined to be halted. It was their turn to be the strong ones. Master Finn dashed forward, shark sabres aglow with an aqua light as he practically skated along the floor towards Unidoom. Taking aim, he shot past Unidoom like a bullet, slashing him through his midsection. Master Swoop was next: his battle fans were alight with purple energy he was focusing, and he flew up into the air. With the same speed as his companion before him, the bat master sped past the phantom beast and slashed him multiple times, darting all over the place and attacking multiple times in multiple places, ignoring the sparks that flew from the body of the beast. Finally, it was Master Phant's turn. As soon as Swoop made his way into the air, and Master Finn was at a safe distance, he channelled his animal spirit and his jungle mace glowed brightly. With a mighty swing, the ball slammed onto the ground and for a few moments, the earth beneath it shattered and cracked its way to Unidoom. Energy mixed with pure hot magma erupted from the cracks, and exploded around the phantom beast. The body of the beast could take no more: his energy was completely drained, he was damaged beyond repair, and he was weakened severely. With one last cry, Unidoom fell to his knees, and as the spirit rangers turned away triumphant, a large explosion was heard and seen for the final time by all, before the city went silent.

Camille looked up from where the was lying, and shook her head in disbelief as she saw the explosion. The phantom beasts, they were being destroyed as easily as any regular beast that Dai Shi sent out to fight. The Power Rangers, these Pai Zhua menaces... They were getting stronger as well! And now, she realised, they had lost the Spirit Rangers. They had nothing once more, but the Phantom Beast Generals and their dwindling army. Footsteps coming from nearby alerted her of someone coming close, and she braced for it to be the wolf master deciding to deliver a final blow. But looking quickly to her side, she was surprisingly relieved to the lioness student Maya instead making her way over, a soft smile on her face. She knelt down, and looked at the chameleon warrior.

"You okay?" she asked softly. "Try to keep quiet, don't want the others to hear me talking to you. We're hidden behind the building wall, so they can't see us."

"Yes, I'm..." Camille paused to wince as she tried to move her body a little. "I've been better," she admitted quietly. "That wolf master of yours... He's tough."

Maya nodded. "Yea, I know. I'm glad that I don't spar with him." She chuckled a little, before continuing to speak. "You should go back to the temple. I think my team are too distracted by the Masters to realise you're still here."

"Are you not happy to see them here, safe? Should you not also be with them?"

"You bet I am. They're like family, of course I'm glad to see them safe and free."

The beast woman looked at the lioness as she removed her still cracked and damaged visor. She wanted to ask why she was such a high priority, but... "You fought one of the generals, didn't you? Your visor is damaged, and your armour is too. You have been in a tougher fight than what you were just in." Slowly, Camille got to her feet and her beast form melted away, revealing the gentle human woman hiding underneath the tough exterior.

The Pai Zhua student sighed, and nodded once again. In a slightly tired voice, she responded with, "Scorch. He's a general for a reason, I suppose."

"And yet you won."

"Somehow," Maya added. "I... I think it was to do with what I did. He beat me, and then... Then I got back up. And I summoned not just my animal spirit, but your master's animal spirit too. Or, rather, my brother's? I'm not sure. But, in that moment, I felt... Stronger. More powerful than ever before."

Camille listened intensely, confused and surprised. She had heard of someone being able to summon an animal spirit not of their own, but only when that animal spirit had been stolen. Scrolls in the temple told of humans who, to punish those who disobeyed, stole the animal spirit of the other person and contained it until it was returned. Dai Shi had also tried to steal the wolf master's animal spirit when they captured him weeks ago, and although he had failed it had resulted in the wolf spirit becoming corrupted and the master lost control. "That... That is quite incredible," she finally said, still trying to keep her voice low. "I have read of others stealing animal spirits and using them, but you did not steal the animal spirit. It appeared for you. Hmm... I will look. I will attempt to find a reason for why this has happened."

"Uh, thanks? But why?"

"To understand you further. You are strange, child. You do not fear me, you do not fight me... Instead you help me. I... I can't understand why you are like this." Taking one last glance at the kind warrior before her, Camille turned away and walked off slowly, her body still in pain. She looked deep in thought, and she was: both about Maya and what she was able to do, and about the tempting power of Rinzin that these phantom beasts possessed: she wouldn't be this weak again, if she was stronger. Maya stood and watched, confused herself, as the chameleon vanished into her surroundings.

* * *

The group returned to the loft, to find the Masters were already there waiting for them. Lily bolted over first, and with an excited shout of "Master Phant!" she threw her arms around Master Phant gleefully. Phant laughed a little, and hugged his student back with a warm and protective cuddle, happy to see Lily so excited.

Theo smiled brightly, and walked on over. "Welcome back, Master Swoop!" the blue ranger said cheerfully, looking up at his Master. Swoop smiled down at him, and rested a hand on his shoulder, not only happy and relieved to see his student again but also proud of how far Theo had come.

With a big grin, Casey made his way past his friends and to Master Finn, who reached out to his student and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Casey did the same, though less out of reassurance and more out of sheer disbelief that he had returned. Casey couldn't quite fully believe he was there, and yet when he rested his hand onto Master Finn's shoulder he felt his warmth, he felt him there, and he was at ease once more. "What a relief to see you again!" He finally admitted, letting out a small sigh of relief. "We thought that after we fired the claw cannon-"

"Hey," Master Finn interrupted with a grin, "You can't get rid of me THAT easily!"

Quick footsteps alerted the group that Maya had finally caught up with them. However, the poor Masters had no time to react, and soon they were engulfed in a big hug from the lioness who practically charged on over. "You're okay! she cried excitedly, the same wide smile on her face as the rangers had on theirs. "You have NO idea how worried I was!"

"Oof! Easy there, don't break this old man's back!" Phant teased as he embraced the lioness student. Everyone laughed at his little remark, including Maya. She looked so happy, so alive, and it was a relief for them to see. Finally, she let go and stood herself by Lily's side, the two girls barely able to contain their excitement.

"From now on, you'll have the Spirit Rangers to help you battle Dai Shi," announced the bat master, warm smile still on his face. Although his glasses hid it, he was looking at the six before him with sheer pride and love: this team had a long road ahead of them still. And yet despite their fights, despite what they were up against, they were still so young, even RJ wasn't 30 yet, and so full of life and happiness.

"Fight strong, fight together," The shark master said with a kind smile.

RJ chuckled softly. "And take the risk," he added, looking his father directly in the eyes. Master Finn gazed at his son with affection and compassion, and nodded in agreement. Only they knew what that truly meant. And maybe, another day, they would tell these students the true meaning of those words.

* * *

Scorch stood before Dai Shi alongside Snapper and Whiger, concerned by the expression of hatred and disappointment on the dragon's mortal face, and yet also angry. "We brought you the masters, created the spirit rangers! Certainly that proves we are loyal!" He argued, clenching his fists. Dai Shi gritted his teeth, and stood up, walking down the steps and staring into the glowing eye of the general.

"I say that proves you're incompetent," he growled in a concerningly calm manner, "your spirit rangers only succeeded in making THEM stronger, not US."

"We would have defeated them if that wolf master had not gotten involved with his father!" snarled Snapper, more frustrated than the two to his right. "And it wasn't just them! The lioness, she returned too! She fought Scorch outside the temple!"

Jarrod's heart began to pound wildly in his chest. Dai Shi was stunned silent. "She was here...? And you LOST?" He shouted after a few moments, tensing up his body and losing his cool. Scorch backed away a few steps.

"I almost defeated her my king! But the girl, she summoned two animal spirits!" He announced in an attempt to defend himself. "Her own, and the human you possess! The brother! They were stronger, SHE was stronger! But then she left, she didn't finish the fight!"

"She... What...?" The beast king sounded confused and taken aback by what the Avalon dragon had said. He didn't think that was possible, not without stealing his animal spirit!

Whiger finally spoke up, having gotten fed up with everything. "Forget the girl my king! Give us another test!" He pleaded, hoping to snap the king out of his current emotional state.

Dai Shi turned to face the phantom beast general, and as he did, a thought suddenly came into his head. He looked down, and almost facepalmed at how foolish he had been this entire time, how blind he had been. "The tiger spirit..." A smirk stretched across his face, and the cogs turned as a plan began to form in his head. This could work, if they were able to pull it off well and time it correctly.

In the back of his mind, all Jarrod could do was cry.


	14. Chapter 13 - Flashback

The Pai Zhua Academy was still abandoned when Maya arrived. Cobwebs had began to form, hanging from the stone pillars that held up the roof and sheltering. Dorm bedrooms had their now dusty bamboo blinds left open, allowing the student to see into the rooms: some had items left in them and some were completely empty, some had messy beds still and some were made perfectly. Grass was beginning to creep its way through cracks in the stone floor, and some of the stone even had some new and abnormal looking marks and cracks which she assumed were dodged attacks sent at the students by Dai Shi. And the forbidden room doors were still wide open, occasionally moving back and forth a few inches due to the gentle breeze that occasionally swept through the ghost town. It was sad, seeing the academy again and seeing it was still empty. She had only seen it for a few moments when she had first arrived back home: she had been in such a panic seeing the place so desolate and abandoned, seeing the big foreboding doors to the most dangerous room in the academy flung open that she hadn't even cared to look at the details, look to see how the place was already falling into decay.

Pai Zhua had one key rule: if Dai Shi were to escape, students were to evacuate the academy and flee to wherever they were able to go. This was so the malicious dragon spirit couldn't kill all of the Pai Zhua students at one time due them being grouped up in one location. By splitting up, if he chose to hunt them down, it would take him longer to kill them all. This was the best way Master Mao could protect them, both the new and the experienced, if he or the other Masters couldn't.

But even knowing that, it hurt Maya to see the place she had known as her home for several years so lifeless and empty.

She had come here of both her own free will, and because the Masters had suggested it to her. She had informed them of what had happened, how she had been able to summon the animal spirit of her brother, and they had suggested returning to the academy to find a scroll or something which could help her to understand this new ability further. She had complied, and had safely made her way through the forest. Now all she had to do was find what she came here for. Maya wandered past pillars and benches, windows and red doors, countless abandoned rooms that she remembered well and fondly. _'Maybe someday,'_ she thought to herself, _'When Dai Shi is defeated, this place won't be so empty. I hope the rest of the students return: I hope they're okay-'_

The thoughts of the young student were interrupted when a door suddenly swung open and slammed against the wall, catching her by surprise and causing her to jump and make a small yelping sound. "What the heck?!" she shouted angrily to herself, turning to her left to look at the door that had threw itself open. Her eyes widened when she saw that down the darkened corridor, amongst cobwebs and black nothingness, were library shelves full of old scrolls and books with thick leather covers. This was the room she was looking for, the Pai Zhua library. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. She wasn't sure whether to be relieved she found the room she was hunting down or frightened by it's dramatic revelation that startled her. Unsure what to do, she stood still for a few moments before finally getting her feet to move and slowly making her way down the corridor to the shelves, cautious step after cautious step. The lioness had never been into the library before. She knew it existed, she heard other students talk about it and dare each other to try and enter it to see what was inside without being caught, but she had never been in there herself. She didn't think it would look like something out of a haunted house, with red unlit candles, cobwebs galore and dark, ornately carved tables that looked like they belonged at Dai Shi's temple more than in an academy trained to fight the evil of the world. A lot of the scrolls were tied nearly with various ribbons who's colours had dulled with age and wear. Even the scrolls themselves were grey and dusty and torn in some areas due to how long they had all existed for. With a sigh, Maya began her task: she reached for a scroll with a faded red ribbon, undid the neat bow, and slowly unrolled the parchment.

Caught off guard once again a flash of black and gold energy flung itself from the scroll, and Maya shrieked louder than she had when the door swung open, and in her panic she dropped the scroll onto the floor. Closing her eyes firmly, Maya flailed as she energy surrounded her and enveloped her body in a strange warmth. The same warmth she had felt just a day ago, when she had summoned her brother's animal spirit.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

 _' **Oh good, you're alive** ,' _were the first words to come out of the black lion spirit that stood before her with a proud stance. _' **Perhaps that was a bit too dramatic. Especially after I scared you by opening the door for you.** '_

"Wha... Jarrod?"

 _' **No, not quite. I am Black Lion, your brother's animal spirit. Though you already know that. While I am his animal spirit, I do have a mind of my own.** '_

Maya narrowed her eyes in disbelief. "So... You have your own consciousness? A-And how are you talking without opening your mouth?" She asked, stumbling with her words a little as she tried to process what was going on. Her environment had warped and shifted; no longer was she in the academy's library, but instead she was in some sort of forest, with trees and bushes which had black and gold leaves. The path she stood on was a dark grey cobblestone, but despite the strong and supportive appearance of the floor beneath her she felt like she was standing on water or jelly. The air she was breathing in also didn't feel like actual air; it felt a little thick, like she was inhaling smoke or a heavier form of oxygen.

 _' **Yes, I have my own consciousness. Every animal spirit does. And to answer your question, it is because I am speaking to you in your mind. This world around us is not real, but instead a projection I have created with the power I possess. I felt as though a comforting area would soothe your shock.** ' _The lion spirit had a deep voice, sounding like her brother but more older and more wise. It was quite comforting to the Pai Zhua student, to have a voice so similar to one she knew well.

Another question soon popped into Maya's head. "How are you here?" She asked curiously, looking around once more at her surroundings.

 _' **I am here of my own free will. I left Jarrod, and came to see you.'**_ The lion spirit bowed its head, looking rather sad and sombre as it's glowing eyes dulled and closed. _' **Maya, you fail to realise the situation that your brother is in. Dai Shi is powerful, it was a struggle to escape from his grasp and come to find you. Your brother, as Dai Shi, has done terrible things. Things that have made him weaker, and made Dai Shi stronger. Maya, as much as I can tell you want to save your brother, as much as your spirit yearns for it... There is no turning back for him.** '_

"Wait, so..." She swallowed the lump in her throat, "You also want me to give up on Jarrod? It's bad enough that he himself said he didn't want me coming to save him, now you too Black Lion?"

The black lion spirit opened its eyes again and looked up at the concerned young student, feeling a pang of guilt. _' **You know I do not want to give up on the man who I belong to, who only has me, his animal spirit, as a friend in this world. However, the only fight he is putting up is to protect you and Camille. If he cannot save himself... He wants to at least be able to save those he loves.** '_

"Wait, so he loves-"

 _' **It's surprisingly obvious the more you look at the two when they interact,** '_ he said as a deep chuckle came from the lion spirit, before returning to his neutral state. _' **If you are still so very determined to save your brother, I will not hold you back. However... At least allow me to show you what you have missed.** '_

Maya opened her mouth again to ask yet another question: such a strange and new and emotional situation created a lot of questions in her mind. "Show me?"

 _' **Yes. I am going to show you. Like this world around us currently, this forest scene, I can use my power to create a projection and show you what occurred since Dai Shi's release. But if you have any questions during this, or if you become too... Emotional, to watch anymore, then I will pause the projection for a moment.** ' _As it said this, the lion spirit paused also, as if thinking for a few moments before continuing. _' **Even if I cannot convince you to stay back, as I can tell you are still determined as ever to go after him, you at least should be told the details. Master Mao did not tell you about some of the things which have occurred prior to your arrival. Ah... Welcome back home, by the way. Perhaps I should have mentioned that**_ ** _first_.** '

It was Maya's turn to pause this time, as she thought about what the black lion spirit said. Her mind was still racing, still shouting at her to forget everything and go after her brother despite his own wishes. The lioness student had never been very good at coping in stressful times: her mind could never decide on what it wanted to do and what was the best form of action, and she tended to think and act suddenly and sometimes dangerously as a result of this. Dominic and Jarrod knew this well, and were skilled at being able to hold her back if she tried to do anything they knew wasn't a good idea. Since then she had matured, but her mind was still indecisive and she still often needed someone to hold her back. The only real thing that had stopped her from running to save Jarrod was he himself telling her to stand down and not to come after him again. The constant reminder from everyone that he was the bad guy and couldn't be saved also held her back a lot, though at the same time made her all the more panicky and restless about the situation.

 _'But an explanation would be helpful... I've missed a ton of stuff. And who knows, maybe it can help me figure out what to do next.'_ Maya took a deep breath to calm herself, inhaling the still rather thick air that surrounded her, before exhaling and looking back at the black lion spirit, having averted her gaze to floor beneath her. "Alright then, black lion. Please, go ahead and show me what I've missed."

' ** _Alright. Give me a moment to summon the projection._** ' The black lion spirit turned it's back to Maya, as it's golden mane began to glow vibrantly, releasing colourful energy as it shone. With a mighty roar, the energy coming from the spirit's mane began to combine with the sonic sound, and slowly the sonic energy began to create something similar to that of a television screen, with a purple energy frame and a clear black screen. When the screen had finished fully forming (still a little hazy around the edges due to the energy) the black lion turned back to Maya with a toothy smile, revealing it's sharp and surprisingly shiny white fangs: how did a spirit have teeth so clean? ' _ **There. I replicated one of your human devices, a television screen. This will play the events of the past few months. Wow, just saying that... It's been 3 months since Dai Shi was released. A part of me feels like it's been shorter. Another part of me feels like it has been an eternity.**_ ' The black lion spirit paused once more, to think a little, before coming back to reality and talking again. ' _ **Ah, anyway... Would you like me to start?**_ '

She glanced at the screen, her breathing becoming a little unsteady for a few moments. The black lion spirit stared up at her worryingly, until... "Yea, okay. Start it please."

' _ **Right away.**_ ' Just like that, with the flick of his tail, the black lion spirit makes the screen come to life. At first, all there is on it is on it is static, but in a matter of moments it comes to life with a very familiar image.

The Pai Zhua Academy.

* * *

 _Colours flashed before their eyes as their animal spirits were summoned forth: yellow, blue, and gold. Each full of life and power and goodness._

 _Except one._

 _"I don't want any problems," young Casey said calmly, though his heart pounded in his chest as he looked up at the tall, menacing student before him: one of the next Guardians. The darkness in his eyes, the clenched fists and fierce expression caused fear within the cub._

 _"Too bad!" With a strong shove, Jarrod sent Casey stumbling back down the stairs, and into the table being used to place the baskets of towels. A wince came from the cub as he banged his head on the hard surface. "Aw, poor cub got hurt! Whatcha gonna do, little kitten?" He taunted with a smirk, laughing to himself. But Casey got up. Struggling forward on all fours, the student let out an angry and mighty roar, sending the arrogant Guardian flying back and crashing onto the floor. All this was witnessed by Master Mao, who stood as stern and as wise as ever._

 _Within the depths of the dark forbidden room, he spoke to the bewildered cub. "You also have the potential to become a Tiger Master. I've decided to choose you, in Jarrod's place."_

 _Tears formed in Jarrod's eyes as he yelled furiously, his voice echoing within the large, almost empty room. "You just can't kick me out for no reason!"_

 _"Agreed. But I have a reason. You should know that." As calm and cool as ever, Master Mao stared down the angry and distressed student._

 _"Please Master Mao! You know I've worked so hard to get to where I am now! I can't lose what I've worked for, not like this! I demand a second chance, please!" The student continued to shout, a tear streaking down his cheek._

 _But the Master shook his head. "I know you have worked hard, Jarrod. But your behaviour is not acceptable, and even you know that. It has not been acceptable for 3 years now. You think that because your sister is gone, that you can act out of line, act immature and rude to the other students. You are mistaken." With that, he turned his back to Jarrod. "Now leave."_

 _He didn't budge. "Don't you DARE bring my sister into this!" Tears still in his eyes, Jarrod swung his arms in a very familiar motion, and his spirit erupted from nowhere._

 _The gold and black animal spirit attacked Master Mao. And the dusty yet ornate box he held tumbled to the floor._

* * *

Tears filled Maya's eyes as she watched the dragon spirit, Dai Shi himself, knock her brother and her new friends away, before turning to Master Mao. In an instant, she witnessed his death, as he was held so tight the oxygen left his body and the dark matter corrupted his spirit, destroying it and the Master's life force with it. "Master..."

The lion spirit, who had now sat down, turned and looked up at the lioness student. As he did so, he flicked his tail and paused the image so he could attempt to soothe her. ' ** _Oh dear... Maybe I should not have shown you that part_. ****_Maya... I am sorry, for what happened. It was not my choice to hurt Master Mao, and to make him release Dai Shi. It was an impulse on Jarrod's behalf._** '

"H-He wanted to kill Master Mao?"

' _ **No Maya, you know your brother wouldn't wish death upon anybody. Despite how harsh he has become, Jarrod doesn't want to kill**_ _ **. He was angry, and he was distressed. You saw that he was crying, something that hasn't happened in the past year and a half. All he wanted was revenge, for what Master Mao had decided to do. He didn't want to walk away, so he fought instead.**_ '

Maya fell silent, aside from a few sniffles and whimpers as she wiped away tears, and continued to watch.

* * *

 _"Go to this address at Ocean Bluff," Master Mao wheezed as he shakily handed Theo a small envelope with a red Pai Zhua seal upon it, "there you will meet your new Master. Now... Let me rest..."_

 _"W-Wait! No! We don't want a new Master!" Lily cried out as she gave Master Mao a small shake, she herself now close to tears. He took her hand, and held it weakly._

 _"Listen to me, child. You three, are the world's only hope now... I know you can do it... I believe in you all." His cloudy gaze moved to Casey, who was trembling and pale. "Even you, Casey... Believe in yourself. And you will succeed..."_

 _Within the forest, he ran. The way was shrouded in fog that made it hard to see, but he ran anyway. He had to. Tears were still in his eyes: Jarrod couldn't fully believe he just did that. He freed Dai Shi, he hurt Master Mao... He watched him die. It was all his fault. But he continued to run. He couldn't turn back, for he was a disgrace to Pai Zhua. To his sister, and his friend. To himself. But he was still scared; of what he wasn't entirely sure yet. Dai Shi, death, the reactions of others, himself and his own animal spirit, his power, all of it was so confusing and scary to him._ _It was that fear that lead Dai Shi straight to him._

 _For Jarrod, when he was attacked, everything went white. The foggy forest around him vanished, and it felt like the ground had given way beneath him. But then, everything shifted. The floor returned, but he couldn't see it: it was white, like the walls. Or whatever walls were in this strange world. "What the hell...? Where am I? W-What happened?!"_

 _Something in front of him caught his attention. It was golden energy, forming into a figure. At first, Jarrod couldn't make them out, but eventually the energy fully created a being. It wasn't him, it wasn't anybody he recognised. It was a male, someone relatively young yet not around Jarrod's age: maybe 25 or 30 years of age. He had black leather armour lined with gold trims, even matching sturdy boots and tough fingerless gloves, and a long flowing fur cloak behind him. He also had gingery golden hair thast was a little messy, in a style that reminded him a lot of Master Finn. One of his eyes had a black pupil, while the other had a golden pupil: both shone like diamonds. He was majestic, and yet Jarrod could just feel the power that radiated from him. Power that made him fearful. "Greetings, Jarrod. I ought to thank you for running: I really did need to stretch my spirit, after being locked away for ten thousand years."_

 _It took Jarrod a few moments to finally speak. "D-Dai Shi?"_

 _"What? You did not recognise me? Surely Pai Zhua has a scroll somewhere of myself?" When Jarrod shook his head, Dai Shi rolled his eyes. "How typical. History is written by only those who want to mask the truth. Pathetic." Slowly, Dai Shi took a few steps forward. "Do not be so alarmed. You think I want to hurt you? You saw how I destroyed your Master, and yet here you are alive and well. Well, you're currently unconscious right now, but you're still alive."_

 _"Unconscious? T-Then, where are we?"_

 _Dai Shi chuckled deeply. His voice was masculine and deep, and while he had an accent the lion student couldn't tell whether he sounded American or British. It was like a strange mix of the two. "Your mind, my child. Stop looking so frightened, and allow me to explain a little. Ten thousand years ago, I was just like you. I was a student at Pai Zhua, and a powerful one at that. The Masters tried to hold me down, but I wanted more from life. More from my power. So I disobeyed them. I was loyal for many years, always abiding by what they said. But for the first time, I made my own choice. I was disgraced as a result. And I was angry, and for good reason. So I took it upon myself to prove them wrong, to show that I deserved greatness! And I succeeded, Jarrod. I fought my way to the top, I stopped at NOTHING to achieve my goal, and I made it. My animal spirit became one with me, and it felt glorious." He took a few steps closer to the student and as he did so, he created an image in his hand. It was of a young woman, around 19 or 20 years of age: her face was youthful, her lips red and eyes bright green, her black glossy hair long and her leather robes a mix of chocolate brown and crimson red. "Along my journey, I met others like me. Rejected by society, rejected by those we were loyal and loving to. My top general, Camilla, she was the first I discovered. She was the child of two Pai Zhua Masters, the sweetest and purest spirit you would ever imagine. And she was denied happiness by everyone. It was disgusting: her father worked her too hard, he was determined for her to achieve the level of greatness he wanted her to have. And those she trained with in her classes were even worse... Bullied, despised, hated for no reason. She tried so hard, and eventually she snapped, fought back, and was rejected altogether. I found her alone, crying in the woods: she had been hiding for several days. And I took her in as my own. My dearest Camilla, who was once hated by her own species, joined my side. And I showed her the same power I had achieved. Seeing her achieve her true spirit form, a mighty warrior with scales of steel, and seeing her so joyful and proud of herself made me realise something Jarrod. That we could not be considered humans. True, we walked on two feet, but we were not like the rest of them. So, we decided we would be called what society had been calling us: Beasts. Disgraces. Camilla adored her human body, as did I, and so she kept to her beautiful appearance. I however, ascended to greater heights as my power increased. I lost my human appearance, and truly became my animal spirit. A great and mighty dragon. I will not lie, that form I lost I did enjoy. It is the one you see before you right now. But it allowed me to become more powerful without any limits or any restraints holding me back."_

 _"S-So, what do you want to do with me?" Jarrod asked shakily._

 _"I want you to become one with me, child. When your Masters locked me away within the box, they drained me of my power. The destroying of the lock took a lot out of me, and I lay dormant and asleep for years afterwards. Although you opening the box gave me the energy I needed to awaken, attacking your Master took even more from me, more than I may ever be willing to admit. I require... A host, if you will. I will help you prove your Masters wrong, I will help you become greater and more powerful and show all those who hurt you that they messed with the wrong lion! And in return, you help me to get stronger as well and achieve what I once had. You will stand as me, and I will control your body as my own. Of course, that does not mean you can not have some influence." The image in his hand of Camilla faded away, leaving only a few heart-shaped sparkles. "Camilla will certainly approve of you: and I expect she will be greatly excited by both my return and your arrival. Perhaps, if you are willing enough... I may permit you some 'special time' with my dear general." He smirked a little as the student before him blushed pink, and held out his hand. "Join me Jarrod. We will both be powerful, we will both be admired..._

 _And you'll never have to be alone ever again."_

* * *

"S-So... He tempted my brother into joining him. I-Into giving up his body and spirit so he could be stronger. And... Not alone." Maya wiped more tears that trickled down her face, and the lion spirit once again halted the image so she could compose herself. He wasn't sure what it was he could say to her that would be helpful this time: Jarrod had his weaknesses played against him, he believed that Dai Shi would help him and give him more than what could ever be offered at Pai Zhua. In a way, he wasn't wrong. Being Dai Shi, or at least being his puppet, had allowed Jarrod to grow stronger in ways he probably would not have. These dark arts he had learned had helped him survive in this harsh world, that had brought him almost nothing but pain. The lion spirit couldn't deny that Dai Shi had given them both powers they never thought they could ever use: the ability he was using at this very moment to show his sister spirit what had happened in the past was something that the dragon had gifted upon him, and though he hadn't had many chances to use it Jarrod and his spirit adored having such strange and rare powers. But of course, these powers were only to be used by Dai Shi: the life no longer alone that he had been promised was true, but instead of loneliness he was plagued with bad deeds and nightmares. The admiration was only for the dark spirit that possessed him instead of himself. The pain he was once inflicted with was now upon those who didn't deserve to be hurt. And watching the woman Dai Shi called his "dearest" and his "lovely" suffer the same way the lion student himself suffered hurt more than anything else. The animal spirit hung it's head, as Maya wept beside him.

"... Continue."

The black lion jolted back up suddenly, looking at Maya with concern in his glowing eyes. ' _ **Are you sure?**_ '

All he received is a nod in response. "Yes. Continue... Please."

* * *

 _Shrieks rang out as the three students were flung against a car, before landing face-first into the concrete. Powerless and defeated, they looked up at the large and terrifying mantis beast that loomed over them and laughed manically. "And now, to finish you pests!" it shrieked, it's high-pitched voice almost painful to listen to. But as it went to strike, a familiar figure appeared. He bolted in front of the students, and with a calm and collected expression and tone simply said, "Dude, step back."_

 _Purple energy formed around the chef, as RJ called upon the wolf spirit with simple fluid motions that were only vaguely recognisable. While his spirit didn't seem to form fully, a bolt of power along with some kind of pulse or shock burst forth from RJ and sent the wicked beast flying backwards, and reverting to a strange red and white form as a few small explosions were caused by nearby damaged cars that further caused damage to the creature._

 _"I got you a little gift, to even out the odds," the chef said with a grin as he dramatically pulled open a drawer to unveil his creations, big smile on his youthful face. Three simplistic yet colourful sunglasses, with quite a sporty style to them. The three teens, however, looked confused._

 _It was Lily who called him out on the strange gift. "Sunglasses?" she questioned, her tone a little harsh and almost sarcastic as well as confused._

 _But RJ shook his head excitedly, a look of glee on his face still. "Oh, they aren't just sunglasses," He began cheerfully, "Did you ever hear of the Power Rangers?"_

 _"Yea, who hasn't?" responded Casey with a little smile appearing on his face. RJ looked him right in the eyes, and his grin grew bigger. The gears began to turn in Casey's mind, as well as the gears within Theo and Lily's minds as they started to realise what RJ was implying._

 _"Well guess what..." He went silent for a few moments, keeping the three in suspense. "You. Be. Them." With each word, he looks between the three of them: first keeping his eyes on Casey, then looking at the now gleeful Lily, and then an equally excited Theo._

 _Amongst the carnage and destruction of Ocean Bluff's shopping district, the three teenagers rushed through the wreckage, jumping over or dodging rocks from ruined walls and holes left in the pavements and roads they ran along. A wall of Rin Shi stood before the mantis beast, who was still causing havoc and attacking humans who were fleeing the area. Back in his monster form, he made them scream and stumble over their own feet as they attempted to run away from him. The Pai Zhua students stopped in their tracks, and glared down the footsoldiers with confident smiles: they were NOT going to be taken down so easily this time._

 _Pulling their morphers from the pocket of their new trousers, Lily and Theo slid their new shades onto their face carefully yet smoothly. "Ready!" Their posture took on a fighting stance of some sort, before tapping the side of their morpher with their fingers: their prints scanned, their vision came to life as the morpher registered the user and activated. "Jungle Beast! Spirit Unleashed!" Bright colours like before flourished from the two teenagers, and in a few quick and precise motions they were soon covered from head to toe in brand new Power Ranger gear, their morpher sunglasses now their helmet and their clothes having melted away into colourful and yet comfortable patterned spandex._

 _"Jungle Beast!" As Casey performed these same motions, he knocked Rin Shi away from him. "Spirit Unleashed!" As a vibrant burst of red erupted from the teen, the remainder of the hopping footsoldiers were knocked away, and when the flash of energy and light faded away he too was now clad in Power Ranger gear like his new teammates. Together, they were unstoppable. Together, they were the Power Rangers of Ocean Bluff. Power Rangers Jungle Fury._

* * *

"Woah... Do I look like that when I go into my armoured form? Or is that different...?"

The black lion chuckled. " _ **I assume you look similar. It's a relief to see you more calmer now... Are you alright?**_ " He asked as he gently nuzzled her hand.

He received another nod from the lioness, but this time she's a little more calm. "Yea, I-I'm feeling a little better. Remembered some breathing techniques from when I was in Japan. I use them a lot, to help me relax and chill out when I'm... Worked up, I guess is the best way to put it. I do forget to calm down sometimes though. Like when I had that argument with the Rangers about going after the Masters." Maya flashed the black lion spirit a smile. "What next is there for me to see?"

The spirit paused for a moment to think, unsure. " _ **Well... I could show you when the three Masters arrived, and helped your friends. But, do you want to watch that? That isn't exactly something you have entirely missed out on, since you have been made aware that the three Masters have a connection to them. It is up to you.**_ "

"There isn't much point showing me something I already know... So skip over that part."

" _ **Hmm...**_ " The spirit pondered for a few more moments, " _ **I could show you what happened on my side. When the three Overlords arose.**_ "

Maya tilted her head and looked at the black lion spirit with confusion. "Overlords?"

" ** _Ah, so you do not know about them. Very well, I will show you what occurred. Though... I will admit, it does get rather emotional. At least...It will for you. So, again, it is up to you. I do not wish to cause you anymore distress. But if you truly insist on seeing it, then I will show you._** " He looked up at the young adult, and waited patiently for her to respond. Her expression was torn: on one hand, she seemed almost excited to learn more about these strange new beasts, her eyes alight with excitement to prove it. On the other hand, she was frowning and her body posture was quite tense, as though she didn't want to see whatever would cause her to give into her emotions and cry again. " _ **Maya...?**_ "

Another few moments went by of just silence, the animal spirit simply gazing up at the torn student stood by his side. After what felt like a whole two minutes had gone by, finally she spoke, her voice shaky and yet strangely calm once again. Just like earlier. "O-Okay... Show me. Show me what they did. If I'm gonna understand all this a bit more, I NEED to see what they did t-to him. To you." Turning to face her brother's animal spirit, she gave him a little nod. "Go on."

The spirit just nodded back in response, and with a flick of his tail the screen buzzed to life once more.


	15. Chapter 14 - Disorder

Casey gritted his teeth and frowned as the clip on the screen ended. The three spirit rangers stood triumphant as they defeated their enemy Unidoom, a large explosion erupting from behind them as they posed proudly. He had known the answer, pressed the buzzer, but Buffalord had gotten there faster and slammed the button quicker. The red ranger was surprised he even knew the answer, given how they had defeated him a little over two months ago. _'They must have some kind of spirit realm too, like our Masters. I've heard tales of spirits who had special seeing pools to watch the world and protect us students,'_ he thought to himself as he watched the buffalo beast celebrate at his podium, with Camille gleefully smiling nearby. _'Maybe the beasts have one of those too.'_ The Pai Zhua student sighed and looked down at his feet, disappointed. This was it. He had his chance, he had one last chance to win this wild game show... And he blew it. A part of him was relieved that this was going to be over quickly, and that there was still RJ and Maya to defend the city with the Masters. But another part of him knew that would never be enough, that he had failed his friends and the Earth he swore to protect, that he had promised to keep safe from Dai Shi.

But just as McAllister grabbed ahold of his remote from his pocket, a loud buzzing sound went off that was very familiar to Casey and those in this strange game show world. Bonus question time. Camille looked a little confused, as did Buffalord who was looking around a bit bewildered. But McAllister on the other hand look excited. "My my! It looks as though it's bonus question time!" The strange beast/human looked towards Casey with his cheesy smile. "Casey, you may be able to save yourself from being cancelled... IF you can answer this bonus question. You won't be buzzing for money, you'll be buzzing for your life and to be crowned the winner!" The audience began to cheer and roar with excitement, as McAllister continued. "This question is randomly generated, so even I won't know the answer. Now... Are both sides ready? Hands on the buzzer!"

Taking a deep breath, the red ranger got his hands ready and gave the game host a firm nod to indicate he was prepared, despite the fact his heart was pounding in his chest; this was the chance he had. Fate was giving him one last way to redeem himself and win freedom for himself and his friends, if they were still capable of being saved by this point. He glanced up at Buffalord, who had now recovered from the surprise and also had his hooves at the ready to press the buzzer. Dramatically, McAllister turned to the screen. "And now, screen! Show us your question!"

The TV was still for a few moments, as the audience got all riled up from the tension and began to give a drumroll. Casey could barely breathe, as the tension began getting to him further. After a few seconds, the screen suddenly came to life, as white text flashed upon the TV: **"What is the mental disorder which the Black Lioness Warrior has had since she was a young child?"**

Silence.

McAllister waited patiently, looking at both sides of him to see who would buzz in. Casey bit his lip, and Camille could see the colour drain from his skin: He had no idea. Then again... Neither did she. A randomly generated question, one she didn't expect, one that nobody expected. The audience, filled with Rin Shi and deceased beast spirits that had passed on to the afterlife, had gone completely quiet for the first time since this whole crazy game show had begun. _'What the hell do I do?'_ the red ranger thought to himself as he closed his eyes and began to think hard. _'Maya has a mental disorder? Since when? She's never mentioned anything like that!'_ Desperate to escape this game and save his friends, Casey pushed aside the feeling of concern for the girl, took a deep breath... And began to think through everything that he had heard about Maya; every detail he himself had seen, every word she had said to him and vice versa, hoping and praying to the spirit masters that he could find the answer. As thoughts ran through his mind, time seemed to stop around him.

 _Can't we just storm Dai Shi's temple?_

 _If I had known that my bro would get so twisted that he'd end up releasing Dai Shi and then begin to try and take over Ocean Bluff, I would never have left._

 _I don't think I've cried that hard in years, haha... Ah, that's not funny, sorry._

 _Just because she's my enemy doesn't mean I don't have permission to help her when she's half knocked out._

 _I can't let a simple injury get the better of me._

 _I wish I could've been there for him._

 _Maybe he just doesn't care about me anymore. I dunno..._

 _Ain't gonna make any progress all talking at once. Breathe, okay?_

 _This shoulder of mine ain't gonna stop me getting involved in more fights!_

 _I... I thought I had improved. I thought I was stronger. I guess not._

 _ **I'd rather myself get hurt than any of you**._

And it came to him. The answer came to Casey, and he slammed the buzzer hard. Gasps came from the audience, who were caught off guard, as he felt everyone stare at him. Camille looked surprised to say the least, eyes wide and confused. McAllister seemed a little stunned too as he turned fully to face the contestant. Casey exhaled his breath, and stared straight into the show host's eyes. "Bipolar disorder." His voice was confident, yet also strangely enough he sounded quite nervous and worried. He knew the answer, but it hurt that he even had to answer this question. Was it really true? Did this girl have bipolar disorder? It would explain so much, but the red ranger didn't want to fully believe it. He had seen Maya drop between determined and tough to despairing and vulnerable a good few times since the day he met the lioness student, and his heart ached. He wanted to be able to help her, but how? How could he help someone deal with a mental disorder he barely understands, besides the sudden mood swings? As was considering what to do, McAllister's half cheesy and half sombre voice snapped him from his thoughts.

"Let's find out, shall we?" And with that, everyone turned to the screen one more as it buzzed to life. The clip began, with everyone watching intensely.

* * *

 _The sound of a doorbell rang throughout the small yet cosy home, followed quickly by the pitter-pattering of feet. Coming!" The little ginger-haired child ran down the stairs of the house from her bedroom, grin on her face and hair wild and messy. Halfway down the steps, she turned around and looked up at the floor above her. "Jarrod, could you hurry up?"_

 _"Why do I have to come with you to open the door, silly?" the 8-year old boy calmly asked his twin sister, standing at the top of the staircase and looking down at her with a small smile. She was always so eager to answer the door for him, yet she always waited for him to be by her side._

 _The girl giggled. "You know why! If it's mom and dad, they'll wanna see both of us! Remember the last time they came home? They were real happy to see us both!" She hardly stopped for a breath as she gabbled to her twin brother cheerfully and began to walk the remaining few steps down to the floor. "C'mon Jarrod, PLEASE!"_

 _He laughed a little, then followed her downstairs, the two meeting at the bottom. "Alright, if I gotta. C'mon, let's go open the door then." Still smiling, the two siblings wandered on over to the door, Jarrod grabbing the keys from the small table just next to them. Carefully, he unlocked the door and opened it up. The young Jarrod was expecting to see his ginger-haired father and brown-haired mother, arms full of bags but able to cuddle their kids and hold them close. Instead, what they were met with were two men that the girl and boy recognised as coworkers and close friends of their parents, Mr Wilkom and Ms Burgundy. Both of them were wearing their usual business attire, but something seemed... Off. Ms Burgundy's coat was not it's usual red colour, but instead black with silver buttons. And Mr Wilkom was wearing a black hat, the first time the siblings ever saw him wearing one like that. That wasn't the only thing though: they both looked... Sombre. Ms Burgundy looked as though she had been crying, and was especially upset over something. After a few moments of silence, Jarrod nervously spoke, "Hi Mr W, hi Ms B... Hi. Mom and dad are away, if you're looking for them."_

 _Mr Wilkom shook his head. "No, Jarrod... We're actually here to see you and your sister. May we come in?"_

 _"Uhm... Sure, I guess. Want anything to eat or drink?"_

 _Ms Burgundy was the one to shake her head this time, adjusting her glasses a little. "No thanks dear, we're alright." Silently, the four made their way to the living room and sat down: Maya sat right beside her brother on one sofa while the two adults sat opposite them on the other sofa facing them. "Now, dears, we... We have some important news to tell you two. And... I'm afraid it isn't good news."_

 _The young ginger-haired girl tensed up. "What's wrong, Ms B?"_

 _Ms Burgundy looked at her coworker, who simply nodded in response with a small sigh. The older woman then turned to the two siblings, though she was unable to look them in the eyes. "I... I'm afraid your mom and dad won't be coming back home."_

 _Jarrod bit his lip and trembled slightly. "W-What do you mean they won't be coming back home?!"_

 _"I... I'm sorry, you two. But... Your parents passed away while overseas. They were caught in a very serious car accident, and... They died when they reached the hospital." The woman's voice was hoarse as she fought back tears. She could hear Maya begin to cry, and Jarrod beginning to whine and sniffle. "I-I'm so sorry, you two."_

 _"Hey ginger!" A boy's voice calling out made Maya freeze up where she was standing. The young girl was going to go indoors after spending a few minutes awkward hovering about the playground during break-time, with no friends to play with (the few she truly trusted were away on a school trip), and her brother wasn't in either due to being away and training at the Pai Zhua Academy he had recently enrolled in. Feeling a little nervous and frightened on the playground by herself, she had decided that hiding indoors would be the safer option for her. Unfortunately, luck was once again not on her side as Michael, Adam and Carly had spotted her trying to escape. She wanted to run, her mind begged her to not confront them. But a voice within her said otherwise. **"Fight back. Fight back. Fight back."** And despite that fear, that loud voice yelling frantically in her head, this small determined voice kept going on, kept getting louder with each shout. And so she turned around to face her tormenters._

 _She's met with a firm shove from Carly, which caused her to clumsily stumble backwards and into a tree. Laughs echoed in her ears as the girl's two friends caught up with her, grinning from ear to ear. "Aw, what's the matter ginger? Wanted to go indoors again?" Carly giggled as she glared Maya down. "Nah, I don't think so. We let you get away last time; we wanna play again!" Still grinning, the girl slapped Maya before Adam and Michael grabbed her and chucked her to the ground. By this time, other kids had begun to notice what was going on. And all they shouted was "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"_

 _As the students chanted and cheered, the voice in Maya's head grew louder. **"Fight back. Fight back. Fight back."**_

 _Tears ran down her cheeks as the young lioness curled up on the floor, a method she had been using for years now to defend herself against what was to come. She was right in going ahead with this, as the three kids began to kick and attack her. Adam stole her back and tipped it's contents across the floor around her, as Carly and Adam stomped on her and kicked her with all the strength their 11 year old bodies could muster. The 9 year old at their feet sobbed, but didn't say a word as they beat her once again._

 _That was, until the girl grabbed ahold of Carly by the foot. And with a loud battlecry-like shout, dragged her down to the floor and punched her firmly in the face once the bully had been pulled. Using the bully to struggle up to her feet, Maya stared down the two boys and began to attack: Jarrod had taught her moves she couldn't have even imagined to have learnt, and in this moment rage and adrenaline fuelled her emotions. In an instant, she was no longer sad, she was no longer afraid. She felt almost... Satisfied, happy even with the decision to fight the bullies. This sudden rush made her feel free and excited. And she didn't intend to hold back. She listened to that voice, and she flung herself at the two boys._ _It could hardly be called a fair fight. While the boys kicked and punched to the best of their abilities, they only caused bruises to the ginger-haired girl. With the few moves Jarrod had taught her as well as a few she had watched and secretly practised combined with her basic knowledge of avoiding/blocking attacks, she was able to take them down. With a basic slicing motion, she was able to knock back Adam and focus on Michael who was running up to her, about to rugby tackle her. But he was so obvious in his attack, so slow too, that Maya simply dodged out the way and even giggled to herself as the boy landed face-first onto the ground. Carly had since gotten to her feet, and punched Maya in the face, but the pain only hyped the girl further as she punched back with multiple jabs to the chest, finishing with yet another slicing motion to knock the bully away. Each time they got up, she seemed to knock them back down again. Maya's mind a blur the entire time, filled with nothing but excitement. Being knocked down by Michael, who grabbed her wrists firmly and practically chucked her down to the ground which what seemed like some kind of strange wrestling move, made her more wild just like when Carly punched her in the face. The students all watched the fight in surprise, disbelief, and joy as the four students fought 3 on 1... With the 1 standing victorious as the three wounded bullies lay there on the floor curled up just like she did._

 _In that moment, something hit Maya's brain like a truck. Guilt. Guilt and horror and shock. Her determined facial expression morphed into surprise, as she looked down at her marked and bloody hands. Her vision began to go hazy, as tears came to her eyes. Her whole body was aching, she felt so much pain, and that loud voice had returned again. **"What have you done? What have you done? How could you do this?"** Filling her further with guilt. She thought she was doing so well, that she was so strong and triumphant and full of glee for beating her bullies... But all she felt was despair. Looking at the shocked crowd of students around her, she gave a small sobbing sound before running back as fast as her injured and weak legs would let her._

 _Maya sat alone in the room with the psychiatrist, gently touching the bandages that were wrapped firmly around her wrists, and lead up her arms ending just before her elbows. Her skin was pale, and she was red-eyed from crying. After finishing the fight, Maya bolted into the school and ran to her teacher in tears. Her teacher guessed what had happened: her injuries gave a lot of it away, since a few months ago Jarrod had gotten into some trouble himself due to some bullies. But the sudden switch from strong and angry as some other kids had witnessed to sobbing and desperate was something that alarmed the teacher. So following the words of Master Mao, who had not all that long ago found Jarrod after his dangerous encounter with the bullies, Maya had been taken to the nearest psychiatrist in hopes of some help being given to her._

 _"Now Maya, I have looked through everything you've told me and gone through the database to see if any of your signs match symptoms of a certain disorder. And... I am able to make a diagnosis." The young woman looked the child in the eyes, the very same look she had seen from Ms B a year ago. Maya's entire body tensed up, and she stopped fiddling with the bandages she wore. "Dear, I'm sorry, but... I'm afraid you may have Bipolar Disorder. This means you will be required to go on medication to ensure that the symptoms don't become as severe as they seem to have already gotten." When the young girl gave the psychiatrist a confused expression, she sighed. "Let me explain: Bipolar Disorder is where your mood changes very erratically. You can go from a very good and excited mood to a very sad and depressed mood, in very short periods of time."_

 _Maya winced. "I-Is that why I started crying?"_

 _"Yes dear, I believe so. Now, the good news is that you might still be able to continue going to school and studying as long as you take your medication when required. But, I will have to ask you to be at least a little careful." With a pitying expression, the psychiatrist lady turned away from Maya and began to write something down. Maya still didn't fully understand: the mood swings made sense to her now, but... Why? Why did any of this happen? Why to HER? Why couldn't this have happened when she was no longer grieving? And why when she had to go through this alone, while Jarrod was now away and busy with training at the Pai Zhua Academy?_

 _Why was this world being so cruel?_

 _Master Mao stood before the two siblings, now both 16 years old. One looked quite neutral, while the other was worried at what their Master had to say to them and them alone. Jarrod hadn't done anything wrong, nor had Maya. So what was it he was going to talk to them about? Were they about to be dismissed? Or... Perhaps they were going to be taken to the next stage in their training!_

 _"Maya," the Master began as he turned slightly to face the lioness student, "3 years ago I enrolled you here to finally begin learning the ways of Pai Zhua, and more importantly... How to become a great fighter, so that if the day were to come you could protect the world from evil alongside your brother. Your animal spirit was finally ready to reveal itself to the world, and although it was weak you fought to improve. And you did, very well actually. For that, I am very proud." Maya practically glowed with pride, the cheerful smile on her face bright and eager. "However." Her expression soured, and she frowned. "I feel that you are still lacking. You fight and train, but what good is that when you are not at balance with yourself? You take your medication each morning, you continue about your life as though nothing is wrong..." It was the Master's turn to frown now. "And yet, your spirit is still out of control. Still struggling to maintain, and as a result you suffer. You fail even the most basic of attacks some days, and fall to the ground in tears."_

 _The lioness student made a small distressed sound, before raising her voice and speaking before he could continue. "With all due respect Master... What is it you're trying to say? Y-You aren't dismissing me are you?!"_

 _"No! Heavens no. Maya, you have such great potential. But I do not think it is here. That is why... I am intending to send you to the Academy in Japan. I have done this before, with those who have been unable to truly tame their spirits like yourself. And I promise you, that it will help you find the balance you so desperately seek. Then, you can return, and train to become one of the next Guardians of Dai Shi. And perhaps, even earn your Master Stripes should you desire to push yourself that far."_

 _Jarrod turned to look at his sister, who was in complete surprise. She looked excited to be going to a new country, a new place that would help her much more than where she was now, but... At the same time, he could tell something was wrong. So he spoke up. "Master Mao, am I going with her?" He asked cautiously. And the response he got shocked him to his core._

 _"No. She is to go alone, and for you to stay here and continue as normal, Jarrod." As calm as ever, Master Mao watched the two students react with horror._

 _"B-But Master! Master you don't understand, I gotta stay here with Jarrod! Or at least, he's gotta come with me! I-I can't leave him all alone!" protested Maya who was beginning to look less and less excited by the second, and more upset._

 _"Yea, and I gotta stay with Maya to look after her! She can't stay by herself!"_

 _The Master before them sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry but my decision is final. You two can't rely on each other forever, eventually you must learn to be independent adults. I know you have had a troubling past, but... This is for Maya and Maya alone." He sounded firm, and the twins knew there was little point in arguing with him when Master Mao had his mind set on something. But even knowing this, they refused to be apart. Not now, not again. It hurt the last time, so badly, and neither of them wanted to experience such pain again. So they fought. And fought hard._

 _Maya was the one to strike him first, a look of fury still upon her youthful face. For a 16 year old that had only been in kung-fu training for 3 years, she struck with quite a bit of force. She hit him in the chest suddenly with her left hand before following it up with a quick jab using her other hand. However, despite her strength she was attempting to fight a warrior whom had been around for many years. Even if she had trained for 10 whole years it wouldn't have mattered. When she went to strike with her right hand Master Mao blocked it by grabbing her wrist, and flinging her away. Jarrod grabbed her and stopped her, then fought him too: he attempted to hit Mao in the head with a high kick, then follow it up with a low sweeping kick that he hoped would knock their Master off his feet. Unfortunately, the lion student could barely even get the first attack in. Master Mao dodged the attack, and when Jarrod tried the sweeping kick regardless he was dodged once more. Then, as soon as he got up, the Master delivered a strong jab to the chest just like the lioness student had attempted before, and sent him flying away with just a simple poke. Maya rushed to his side and helped him up, blocking a swift slashing attack with her arms and shoving Master Mao back just enough to give Jarrod time to scramble onto his feet. They weren't done yet. This time, unified by their determination to fight against the wish for them to be separated once more, the twins charged back into the battle, a little slow but prepared to do what they must. Their battle style was very different to the Master clad in bright orange robes: while they weren't exactly swift and light by any means, their attacks packed more of a punch and they were able to pull of surprisingly good combos. Jarrod was a bit less strategic in planning his attacks like his sister was, but he was able to take a few more blows. And while Maya wasn't the strongest by any means she was good at planning each move in her head, watching her enemy and figuring out what move could counter that attack. With each strike Mao pulled, Maya could block either for herself or for Jarrod. For every attack from Maya that was pushed away by the Master, Jarrod was able to strike in that open spot that had left open for attack. But for all their attempts, they could barely scratch him. Every attack done to the caracal spirited man didn't seem to affect him and he was more than capable of returning the favour by striking the students down once more. In a final desperate attempt from the two siblings, they summoned their animal spirits and flung them at Master Mao. The black and gold lion and lioness spirits roared and growled loudly as they dashed forth to take down their enemy, claws and fangs bared and poised to strike. All the Master did in return was smile to himself, secretly proud of the defiance these two had within them, and summoned his own animal spirit._

 _When the dust settled from all the attacks, unsurprisingly, the two siblings lay exhausted on the pavements beneath Master Mao, severely defeated and left to deal with the unwanted future that lay before them. Once more, life was deciding to throw them further down the hill they had just began to climb to the top of... And it began to seem hopeless. Curled up near her brother on the stone floor, once again, Maya sobbed as she vaguely remembered feeling this way many times in the past. Her anger and determination had suddenly became nothing more than fear and depression, as she gave into the despair her mind and spirit felt._

* * *

Once again, there was silence in the area. Everyone had watched the screen with wide eyes, absorbing every detail given to them in an attempt to understand. They watched as Maya's emotions came and went like race cars, often leaving the girl in shreds. They watched as she fought to stay by the side of the only family member she had left, and how she failed and ended up leaving her twin brother alone. The student who had lost her parents, developed a mental disorder due to the trauma, and suffered as a result, was now alone. Not just alone for a day or a week. But for 3 whole long years. Casey gripped his contestant podium a little tighter, as guilt hit him hard: not only did he feel horrible about Maya and the disorder that plagued her, but he also felt so very bad for Jarrod. He had lost his parents, two of the few people he held close to his heart, and then had to cope with being all alone just like Maya did. The tiger warrior could tell that while Jarrod didn't develop the same mental disorder his poor twin sister did, but at the same time he also guessed that the guy hadn't gotten off entirely free of mental trauma either. _'And I took away the last thing he had left to keep himself going,'_ he thought to himself as he hung his head, guilt-stricken.

Above the silence, the dinging sound of a correct answer rings out. "That's correct!" McAllister cheered, as the crowd began to boo. "Casey, you have saved yourself from being deleted!"

Camille wasn't sure whether to be in shock about what she had just learnt about her enemy, or whether to be angry that the red ranger had guessed correctly and was able to avoid his fate. A lightbulb went off in her head as she recalled back to a few days ago, when she found the lioness warrior alone and upset: a stark contrast to what she had witnessed earlier, when that very same warrior saved her life from the Power Rangers. The chameleon woman only had a vague understand of some of the mental disorders and illnesses that humans could develop through trauma and other means, but she knew that Bipolar Disorder was one which flung it's victim into various moods at sudden moments: most commonly, going from high levels of energy and joy and hyperactivity to sudden low moods of depression and sadness. That was at least somewhat close to what she had witnessed from Maya, how she had gone from being confident and strong-willed to weak and vulnerable. The more she thought about it the more that moment of her in the forest, crying and alone, made all the more sense. _'Poor girl.'_

"Now then," McAllister's loud and hearty voice broke her out of her thoughts as she looked up to see the Red Ranger's face serious and sombre, "Onto the next question!" The show host turned to Casey, then turned back to Buffalord after a few brief seconds. Casey's heart began to race again: he was definitely not out of the woods just yet. He had to answer another question correctly and quickly enough in order to beat Buffalord and win this game. And while the feeling of sadness lingered within him after watching Maya and Jarrod's past on the screen, he had to try and focus on what was going on now. He needed to focus on himself and his deleted friends just for one brief moment.

He promised himself though, that if he got back safely with the others from this game show, and once Maya returned from the academy, he would do something nice for his friend. And convince her to take her medication, to help improve her current state. And just as he promised himself that, he felt a strange tingling feeling at his hand. Looking down briefly, a smile came to his face: he had his way out. And he could only guess who sent it to him.

"Whoever answers this question correctly will win the round! Here we go!" Clearing his throat, McAllister looked down at his card in his left hand. But just as he was about to begin reading the next question to the two contestants, the audience gasped as the now morphed Red Ranger knocked away McAllister's cards and grabbed ahold of the remote in his other hand. Buffalord yelled in rage and readied himself for battle, McAllister looked incredibly confused, and Camille had a look of worry and surprisingly fear on her face as she too readied herself to fight Casey.

"Show's over!" shouted the tiger warrior as he pointed the remote at the three, confidence and energy flowing through him again due to the power coming to him via the morphing grid. "You've been cancelled!" One by one, he deleted them: First Buffalord, then McAllister, and finally he came to Camille. Focusing on her, Casey found himself faltering as he stared her down from behind his helmet. She still looked quite frightened, her skin pale and her whole body tense. For a moment he felt pity on her, just like she felt pity on them the other day when they thought to have lost Master Finn. He thought back to what Maya had told them the morning after Master Mao brought her to the loft, how she had spoken about her brother able to break through Dai Shi's control and helped her to escape as best as he could. How he made her promise not to come back for him. He took a deep breath, and sighed. "Maybe you can bring some joy back into Jarrod's life."

Camille flinched at his words, and bit her lip a little. "T-There is no Jarrod left, red ranger. Only my Master remains i-in that shell of a body," she stammered, the words coming out of her mouth hurting her a little. She knew that not to be true. But at the same time, she couldn't afford to look weak in front of the red ranger like she did with Maya. He wasn't worthy of her trust in the slightest, nor did he understand her at all like Maya seemed to.

He could guess she didn't mean what she said when he heard her stuttering for the first time ever. "Whatever you say Camille," the tiger boy responded calmly, before pressing the button. Her eyes widened in shock, and he watched she suddenly vanished in a flash of turquoise pixels and particles. And as quickly as she disappeared, he felt his body leave the world, become more than just a few pixels on a TV screen, and he was flung back into the real world with his friends landing close by. Alive and well and safe. In his mind, Casey thanked whatever spirit masters were watching right now that his friends were okay.

At least, most of his friends were.

* * *

Maya made her way carefully up the stairs, her hands shaking a little as she held onto the banister to avoid falling over. When she was noticed by Casey, he could immediately tell that something was wrong with her. Like Camille just an hour or two ago she looked pale and frightened, but more so than that she looked a little shellshocked: like she had seen a ghost. Amongst the excitement of hula-dancing and hawaii-themed music and food as well as excited dancing from Lily and their friends, only the red ranger noticed the lioness had returned from the academy. She didn't look injured at all, aside from the bandages he could make out being wrapped around her shoulder still protecting the injury from a day or two ago (hidden mostly by her golden t-shirt which she was wearing). Her black jeans were slightly torn at the knees, but that was part of the design, and her black and white trainers weren't dirty or anything. She looked perfectly fine and unharmed. _'So why does she look so upset?'_

A pause.

 _'Is it her bipolar disorder? Or did something more happen at the academy?'_ Cautiously removing the Hawaiian flower necklace that Lily had strung gleefully around his neck, Casey subtly and yet swiftly made his way over to Maya who had since sat herself at the breakfast/kitchen bar and was now just staring at the floor in a daze. He wasn't even sure if she'd noticed him move on over, and sit beside her. "Hey Maya," he began, his voice thankfully not too loud due to the music drowning him out. He gave her a little tap on the shoulder and she flinched, before turning to face him with her dazed expression.

"Oh, uh... Hey." She spoke after a few moments, blinking her eyes and trying to regulate the thoughts that rushed through her head. "S-Sorry, I think I was gone for way longer than I should have been. But... A lot of stuff happened." Her voice was a little shaky, he noticed, as she avoided eye contact with the red ranger.

"What kind of stuff?" asked Casey as he put a reassuring hand on her good shoulder. "C'mon, you can tell me. I'm your friend," he added. He got no response from her. She just hung her head and looked as far away from him as she could, some of her messy ginger hair falling in front of her face as she sat in silence. _'Of course she's not gonna give away everything so easily.'_ With another soft sigh, Casey carefully moved her head back so she was facing him again once more. "Maya, I can't help you if you don't tell me what happened to you. I can tell something went on that shocked or even upset you, your expression says it all. So... Will you tell me? Please?"

Again, Maya was silent. But unlike last time he asked her, she responded after a few moments of consideration and thinking. "I... I met Black Lion. My brother's animal spirit," she began softly, deciding now to look at him in the eyes properly, "And... And he showed me what has happened in the time I've been away. Before I showed up. I-I saw all the fights you've endured, all the fights HE has caused, everything. Apparently, Dai Shi has given Jarrod so much power and as a result given his spirit so much power that he's able to show me stuff from the past 3 months-"

Casey's eyes widened. "It's been 3 whole months?"

He gets a soft chuckle from Maya, which is certainly a step in the right direction. "I was surprised too. Three months since this all started, and... I was here for none of it." The small smile she had faded quickly, as the lioness warrior's expression became filled with sadness once more. "He showed me how this all began... How Jarrod freed Dai Shi from the box. Heh, he's always been one for irrational decisions when he gets emotional. We both have. His spirit then showed me some of the fights that happened, how the Overlords overpowered everyone and twisted Jarrod's mind and thoughts. Just seeing all that... I-I... I know I gotta try and save him. I don't care about his wishes anymore. I-I don't care if he doesn't want me back there. I'm **NOT** letting those beasts break him so Dai Shi can get stronger." Maya took Casey's hand and gently held it, eyes filling with determination now: how many emotions could she go through in just a few seconds? "You've gotta help me convince these guys that Jarrod's not evil, Casey. I can't do this alone. Cuz they won't believe me. They'll think I'm being biased and lying because I just wanna save my bro. Theo certainly didn't believe me when I told you guys that Jarrod broke through Dai Shi's control enough to save me and help me escape the temple. B-But I can tell you believed me! And they'll listen to you cuz you're their leader, their red ranger!"

The tiger warrior stared down at their hands, and thought to himself for a minute. Maya sat there with baited breath as she waited for his answer, hopeful and still determined. At first, judging by his expression, she felt her heart since as she began to think he might say no. But as he recalled what he saw during the final clip of the game show, watching Maya and Jarrod's past and how they lost so much including each other in the end, and how despite the evil that has consumed Jarrod... He was definitely able to break through enough to save his sister. _'Dai Shi would never let a prisoner simply escape like that.'_ His mind wandered back some more, way back to when Jellica showed up for the first time. How when Camille was about to be hit by the sea Overlord, after refusing to kill Lily as requested, Dai Shi stepped in and saved her life. _'Surely... Surely there's some good in this guy. He may have been a jerk, but... There's something there. I know it.'_

The hope returned to the lioness warrior as Casey looked up at her, and smiled his usual cheeky grin. "Alright, I'll help you Maya." He chuckled as he watched Maya's eyes light up, and secretly he felt relieved that he was able to see her so happy again. "But-" He added, watching her furrow her eyebrows and become confused, "I want you to do something in return. It's not much, but... I want you to do this."

"S-Sure, what is it you want?"

Casey squeezed her hand tight, before pulling her into a hug. "I want you to go back onto your medication," he responded softly, "to help you with your bipolar disorder." The red ranger felt her tense up in his arms, but she didn't pull away and instead continues to let him hold her.

"S-So you found out... How?"

"Heh, it's... A long story. Let's just say we got up to some wacky things while you were away. But yea, I... I found out. And I can tell from these past few days since you've shown up you've not been taking any medication to help control your mood swings. Maya, I've only known you for a few days: you weren't there when I joined the academy, and then you showed up 3 months after we begun fighting Dai Shi and his army. But honestly, that doesn't matter. Not to me. You're a friend, and I want to make sure you can handle the pressure this whole saving-the-world thing comes with. You haven't been coping all that well since you came back from Japan, and I have a sneaking suspicion that's because you've been letting your extreme highs and depressing lows control you just like Dai Shi is controlling your brother. Except, y'know, not making you evil." Maya let out a soft laugh as she wrapped her arms carefully around him, a small smile appearing on her face once again though unseen by the red ranger who comforted her. "So, I want you to change that. I know the medication won't make it go away forever, and I know that me and the others can't help you get rid of it for good, but... You can at least regulate the mood swings. And WE can be here to support you."

He hears her sniffle a few times, as tears of joy came to her deep brown eyes. He continued to hug her, and the two heroes held each other as their friends continues to dance and have fun to the Hawaiian music, blissfully unaware of the two sat at the breakfast/kitchen bar together. _'Or maybe,'_ Maya thought to herself, _'They know and want to leave us alone.'_ She didn't let the thought get to her, as she stayed there in the warm hug with Casey. She wanted to tell him so much, how much all of this meant to her. How his care and concern for her meant everything to a girl who lived most her life believing she was worthless, thanks to bullies.

Instead, all she did was murmur to him a small sentence, too choked up to say all she wanted to. "I-I will. Thanks, Casey."

"No problem. Remember, I'm not just your ally in this fight, I'm your **friend**. I'm here for you. Just like everyone else here is."


	16. Chapter 15 - Help

**Hi folks! Sorry this took absolutely ages to post: I''ve been away a lot on school trips, as well as dealing with school work in general. Updates might still be a bit slow, but I'll do my best! So here you go! Have a new chapter to make up for it!**

* * *

It had been a day since Casey had asked Maya to return back to her medication, and already things seemed to be improving for her. The group had noticed how she was a bit more chill, how she didn't go from self-deprecation to determined fighter in the span of a minute or an hour. Since her fight with Scorch, Maya had begun to focus more on the safety of the world and her home city as opposed to rescuing her brother. Though Casey knew better: while the lioness warrior was indeed fighting more for the sake of the Earth, he knew she still desired to go back to Dai Shi's temple and free her brother. For now though, he was just glad to see her happy continually. She wasn't always sunshine and rainbows like Lily, but nobody expected that from her given the circumstances. That, and they found her often sarcastic and sassy comments to be quite amusing.

However, much to their disappointment, the laughter ended after only a day of peace. No attacks had left the group grateful for a break, but also concerned about what Dai Shi and the Phantom Beasts were planning. It was only when Saturday came that they found out.

At first, things seemed perfectly fine. The group had decided to go out for a hike through the forest trail, and they laughed and chatted as they made their way across the path, hidden away by tall and short trees with various shades of green amongst their leaves.

"So Casey, how's teaching the Kung Fu class with Maya coming along?" RJ asked casually, while Maya and Lily chattered behind them quietly about Gabby and her upcoming competition. Recently, some of the group had decided to sign up and help out local businesses in need of some assistants on the weekends. Dominic had agreed to help out with the local library, Lily had been enlisted to help as a co-choreographer and chaperone to a small dance club, and Casey as well as Maya had agreed to help teach the Kung Fu class that ran at the community youth centre.

'Yea, it's coming along," Casey said with a smile, "The kids remind me of when I first started."

Maya and Lily's conversation came to a close as Maya gave the tiger ranger a pat on the back. "Kinda funny that we're teaching kids Kung Fu, yet neither of us are Masters yet. You only started Pai Zhua 3 months ago Case!" She chuckled, flashing a cheeky grin to her friend.

Casey continued to smile back. "True, but hey: we don't need stripes to be able to teach kids how to be one with their animal spirit."

With a little laugh, Dom interrupted. "Hey, maybe we could sign up Theo? His moves are getting a bit rusty y'know!"

"I heard that, rhino boy!" Theo responded sharply, though with a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Ooh, at least his hearing's okay." Not a second after he finished his sentence,Dom quickly blocked a soft attack coming from Theo. The rest of the group stopped, placing their bags down with them And watched in amusement as Theo and Dom soon ended up on the ground, laughing in a small pile on the floor with their hiking bags.

"C'mon you two, save it for the Phantom Beasts," Maya scolded with mock irritation, grin still firmly plastered onto her face as she told off her friends like she did the students.

Casey joined in with the charade, playing along. "Alright, break it up ya crazies."

RJ turned to the two, raising an eyebrow at them as he placed his bag down just next to where Casey and Maya had chucked theirs. "Wow, you two have really got this teacher thing down. So, what's the lesson today?"

Maya and Casey looked at each other, and the grins on their faces grew further as they both thought of the same thing. "The element... Of surprise!" They responded quickly in unison, before immediately going to attack RJ. Without even flinching, the wolf master knocked both of them away, though he made sure the landing was a little soft for the sake of not wanting to harm Maya's now healed shoulder.

The ranger chuckled to himself as Lily, Theo and Dominic all watched and smirked at the absolute backfiring of Casey and Maya's plan. "Well, guess I learn fast!"

Once again without warning, there was a flash from the bush before the red ranger and black lioness warrior leapt out, armoured and ready for a little friendly training session. "Lesson's not over yet!" Cheered Casey with a triumphant and excited tone to his voice. Maya didn't say anything, but the eager little growling noises which came from her proved to say more than enough about how she was excited for some more sparring. With the last of the hiking bags being ditched on the floor into the semi neat pile that had been made, the remaining 4 members of the group all activated their morphers.

As the 2 vs 4 began, Casey and Maya versus Theo, Lily, Dom and RJ, a young boy stopped peddling his bike and hid behind a tree as he watched in amazement and excitement as punches, kicks and flips were thrown about by the colourful group. "No way... The Power Rangers!"

* * *

Within the darkness of the temple, the 4 of them stood awaiting Dai Shi's command. The 3 Generals stood in front of the throne in a neat line while Camille stood next to Dai Shi, not wanting to stand near Scorch. Slowly, Dai Shi strode past Snapper and Scorch, and to Whiger. He had done some extensive reading of the scrolls within the temple the day prior, as had Camille, and he had discovered that while the two animal spirits were slightly different, Whiger could indeed steal the animal spirit of the Red Ranger. This was just what he desired.

But it was not only Whiger who was going to steal an animal spirit today.

"Whiger," Dai Shi began, "The red ranger has the tiger spirit, as do you. I think that's one tiger too many. Prove yourself, and destroy him."

The general bowed his head. "As you wish!"

* * *

In the youth centre, the Kung Fu class was buzzing. Jimmy was excitedly telling his class about how he had seen the Power Rangers fighting and sparring on his way to class. Everyone was listening eagerly: the Power Rangers were very popular with the kids of Ocean Bluff, and quite a few of the Kung Fu class students had signed up just so they could train and be like the protectors of the city.

"Thats not all though! There was this new Ranger there too! She looked kinda like Teach actually, with this long ginger hair!"

A smaller student piped up. "She had no helmet?"

"Nope! She had this cool visor instead that covered her eyes! She looked so cool!" Jimmy gushed, and the class began to excitedly talk amongst themselves.

"So you saw some Rangers, big deal. What, did they ask you to join them?" Todd smirked as he walked closer, glaring Jimmy down. "You gonna be the nerd ranger?" Some of the class giggled and snickered, causing Jimmy to go red with embarrassment: Todd began bullying him when they were 8 years old, after spending a few years as decent friends. They were 15 now, and Jimmy had hoped that at some point Todd would have backed off and left him be to focus on other stuff like studying: but he never left Jimmy alone, and the torment continued.

Salvation came when Casey and Maya walked through the doors and clapped their hands to get their attention. Both were wearing a white shirt with the class logo on the back, and black tracksuit trousers; But while Casey wore a red long sleeved shirt under his white T-shirt and had a red sash tied around his waist, Maya wore a black long sleeved shirt and wore a gold sash around her waist with pride. The class quickly scattered, and entered their standard formation consisting of 4 lines of 3 kids per line. Calm and stern, Maya and Casey stood at the front of the class together and bowed to the students, receiving a bow in return.

"Alright class, today we're gonna start off with some light practicing. We're gong to split you into pairs, and you're gonna practice a few of the moves we taught you last week. Try and see if you can get your partner to fall to the floor, but be careful not to harm them. Stay on the mat." Maya spoke to the class with a firm tone to her voice as sh explained their first activity of the lesson. She looked around the class as she spoke, making eye contact with some students as her line of sight passed them; she wouldn't tolerate anyone attempting to cause harm to another student maliciously.

And so they began to pair them. Todd with Archie, Cindy with Fred, Jimmy with Michael, and so on until each kid had been paired up. Casey and Maya walked amongst the students as they practiced, not only keeping an eye on them but also helping if they messed up a move. Casey made his way to the other side of the mat as Maya stayed on the left aside to help Cindy with a move she was still struggling with. The tiger warrior arrived just in time to see Jimmy fall to the floor, and Todd break from his partner to go and loom over the boy with a cruel grin on his face.

"Aw, did you fall down? Can't fight lying on your back, nerd ranger!" taunted Todd, giggles from some members of the class only further fuelling his actions. However, they also caught Casey's attention even more, and the red ranger calmly walked over, his footsteps silent.

"I like jokes Todd. Do you wanna share them with the class?"

Todd straightened up and turned to his teacher, feeling a slight chill rush down his spine; for as nice as Maya and Casey could be, they meant business, and not even Todd dared to get on their bad side and risk punishment. "No sir!" He responded quickly, keeping his face as neutral as possible.

As Casey nodded and went back to his place at the front of the class, Maya watched as Todd pulled a face at Jimmy and returned to his partner, continuing with the exercise. Jimmy struggled back to his feet, looking forlorn and clearly upset, something which both Casey and Maya took note of.

They had to deal with this problem.

* * *

Maya bounced the basketball up and down as she walked back and fourth in the loft. Theo, Fran and Dominic were all downstairs working while she and Lily were on break. Right now, all Maya could think about was what happened in the Kung Fu class that morning: the distress she could sense from Jimmy, the cruelty of Todd and his words, the parallels her brain was making was causing her discomfort and concern. As her emotions grew stronger, she bounced the ball against the ground harder and harder as a means of attempting to distract herself.

She was taken completely off-guard when Lily grabbed the ball and took it away. "Okay, that's it: Something's wrong, and you're not telling anyone about it."

"Is... Is it obvious?"

"Yea, it's pretty obvious. Not only because you've been attacking the poor basketball harder and harder for the past 10 minutes now, but its practically written all over your face that something isn't right. So... Please, will you tell me what's wrong?" Lily pleaded a little as she tossed the basketball aside gently, then turned back to the lioness warrior and looked her in the eyes. Maya gazed at her friend, and sighed as she spilled everything.

"It's the Kung Fu class. There's this kid who keeps getting bullied by another student. I wanna step in and stop it all from happening, but I'm afraid of escalating the situation. The last thing I wanna do is make things worse for the kid... Not just that, but he... He reminds me of when I was a kid. When me and Jarrod got bullied. It started off as verbal teasing, Lil, and then it got so much worse. So much more violent. I-I don't wanna just stand there and let that kid get treated the same way me and my brother did, nobody should have to endure that kind of pain. I-I... I don't know what to do." Maya forced back a tear or two, as the yellow ranger wrapped an arm around her companion and pulled her close for a little comforting.

"Sounds like you've got a predicament on your hands. Have you spoke to Casey about this?"

Maya shook her head, then brushed some ginger locks out of her eyes. "No. Well... Yes, but he doesn't know what to do either. Neither of us know how to handle the situation, cuz the last thing we want to do is make it worse for the poor boy getting bullied."

"Well, I'm sure you can figure something out," soothed Lily with a warm and gentle smile, "Just because you're teachers doesn't mean you two will know the answer to every problem immediately. Why don't you sit with him when he gets back from his run with RJ, and you talk some more about it then. Maybe the rest of us can join you, and we can come to a conclusion together if you and Case are really stuck on how to resolve this. How's that sound?"

With a small smile, Maya gave her friend a hug. "That sounds like a great idea. Thanks Lily, you always seem to come up with the right ideas around here."

"I know: trust me, the others say that a lot!" With a laugh, Lily patted Maya on the shoulder and adjusted the girl's black jacket a little. RJ had been able to get Maya her own uniform to match the group, and she adored the black jacket with gold lining and features. She felt like, now she was back on her medication, the world was beginning to be less foggy and more balanced. And she also felt like one of the team now, only further helped by the new jacket which matched her new friends. She was one of them now.

Maya's thoughts were interrupted when RJ made his way up the stairs, an exhausted and sick-looking Casey leaning on him for assistance. Behind them, the rest of the group (minus Fran) were all looking as worried as the wolf master did. Something had happened. Something serious.

* * *

Camille slipped her way into the library sneakily, keeping silent as she made sure nobody knew she was there. The floors were no longer littered with boxes and scrolls and other miscellaneous objects, since she had worked hard to clean this place up at Dai Shi's command. Creeping along, the chameleon warrior made her way to the back shelf where a long but small green box sat on one of the lower shelves. She had been successful in her research of the lioness warrior, or Ranger as she was now being called by the beasts. Grabbing the box and placing it down on the nearby table, she opened it and took out the dusty scroll that sat there. A look of pure focus on her face, she read the parchment one more time:

 _"Those tied by blood have been known to summon the animal spirit of their relative, should both have found and awakened their spirit. Under extreme pressure, emotional, spiritual, mental or physical, a sibling can summon the animal spirit of a brother or a sister, or even a parent, whom will protect the summoner with their life. The spirits are still tied to the owner, but they can be channeled by one tied by blood without training, making this kind of summoning different to how a Master trains their Student to summon the animal spirit of the teacher in question. Siblings whom are born as twins or triplets have been known to summon the other's animal spirit more than any other type of blood connection, if both spirits are awakened. However, it has been known for partners who are deeply in love to be able to summon the animal spirit of their significant other if also placed under extreme pressure of any kind, as well as close companions whom have a strong bond."_

With a confident nod, Camille rolled the scroll up carefully and tied it neatly with a green ribbon. She would deliver this to Maya, so the lioness could further understand how she was capable of such a feat as summoning the animal spirit of Jarrod. While she had found no scrolls explaining HOW a blood relative was able to summon a relative's spirit, Camille had found this to be a good enough explanation: it was certainly better than having none at all and being confused.

But as Camille left the temple library, a sharp and scaley hand grabbed her by the shoulder and slammed her against the wall. With a cry, Camille quickly glanced up to see who it was.

Snapper.

"What do you think you're doing, taking that scoll like that?" He sneered, his large shadow falling over the frightened chameleon woman who struggled to her feet.

"I-I am taking it to Dai Shi! H-He at least deserves to know how and why the Lioness Ranger was able to summon his animal spirit!" She stammered, as pain rushed through her body.

Snapper scoffed. "Sure you are! Or do you intend to take it to someone else instead?!"

"What are you implying Snapper! I am loyal to Dai Shi, and him alone!"

"Are you not loyal to the Lioness who saved your life?" He retorted, causing her to freeze. "Ah, so that's who you were taking it to! You're working with the enemy! You TRAITOR!" Snapper lunged at Camille and struck her with a blow to the stomach, before slicing her with his surprisingly sharp fingers. Stunned by the first powerful blow, the chameleon warrior was unable to avoid the second attack, and she cried out in pain as his small but sharp claws cut her and struck her. She clutched the scroll close, protecting it fiercely from the Phantom Beast.

A little flittering and buzzing to her left alerted her of Flit.

Frantic, Camille turned and threw the scroll to the fly. "Flit! Take it and go! Quick!" She cried out to him, before taking another hit from Snapper that knocked her to the floor. As she let out another yell, this time to alert Dai Shi, Flit hurriedly flew away with the scroll firmly in his tiny grasp.

From the throne room, her Master tensed up as a familiar cry of pain echoed from the hall, and he stopped fighting the general. Scorch and Whiger paused as well, slightly unnerved by the sound of someone screaming in such a manner. As instincts kicked in, he got to his feet and quickly followed the sound. ' _Camille!'_

* * *

"I'm surprised you're willing to still do this Case, after what happened yesterday," Maya commented as they cleared up the youth centre: class had ended, and while the kids got dressed into their day clothes, the two teachers talked. "l mean my shoulder got damaged and I was devastated when that meant I couldn't fight. But you... Your animal spirit was stolen. That's way worse!"

Casey nodded sadly. "Yea, I guess you're not wrong."

"You looked really tired out today while teaching. I thought you were gonna collapse!"

"I am kinda tired. Didn't sleep much last night. Its... Its like this empty void is all I have left in me y'know? I can't feel my animal spirit there, and... It frightens me."

Maya sighs quietly and gives the red ranger a small hug, before packing away the rolled up mat. "Let's just... Try to focus on the kids for now, yea? You gonna try and talk to Jimmy today?"

"Yea," he replied as he also put away one of the rolled up mats, "And could you give Todd a little chat too as well? After what happened today, both of them clearly need talking toto."

"Yea... I'm not gonna lie, I'm still a bit worried about talking to them about all this. I really don't wanna make any of it worse, today was painful enough to watch." The lioness shuddered a little. "That... Brought back some rough memories for me."

Casey turned to look at his friend, and gently ruffled her hair. "And we're gonna try and stop that happening again. We're gonna stop this whole bullying problem, and then we'll get my animal spirit back. C'mon, let's both keep our chins up and keep pushing forward. Okay?"

With a smile, the lioness ranger nodded and giggled quietly. "Okay tiger boy, let's do that."

The door to the changing rooms opened, and out came the students, all of which waved and said goodbye to their teachers as they left. Maya and Casey kept looking amongst those leaving until, finally, out came Jimmy, still as forlorn and upset as ever.

"Todd's gotta be in the changing rooms still. Its only him left to leave," muttered Maya to Casey, "I'm gonna go in and speak to the guy, you talk to Jimmy." Giving him a thumbs up, the lioness ranger turned and headed for the boys changing rooms: the teachers were permitted to go into the opposite gender's changing room if they were dressed or there was a major emergency, and while this wasn't exactly an emergency Todd was most certainly dressed when she knocked and entered the room.

"Miss? What's the matter, why are you here?" Asked the boy, confused as to why his teacher would be in the changing room.

"Todd, I... I wanna talk to you. About your behaviour recently."

The teenager groaned and shook his head, before grabbing ahold of his bag. "I don't wanna hear about it Miss. My behaviour is fine!"

Maya grabbed his shoulder, not hard but with a a strong enough grip to get him to stop and drop his bag. "No Todd, your behaviour hasn't been fine at all. Me and Sir have noticed this since we started. You're not acting up because we're new teachers, are you?"

"... No Miss."

Maya sighed and looked Todd in the eyes at long last, a mix of disappointment and cold anger confusing the boy. "Then WHY do you continue to bully the other students? Like I said, Sir and I have seen how you treat the others, especially Jimmy. What is it about him that makes you want to be so... So horrible to him?"

Todd was silent for a moment, as he averted his gaze and looked down at the floor instead of at his teacher. He wasn't sure if he could trust her still, especially since she was new. He knew what adults were like.

"C'mon... I can't help you and the others if you don't tell me what's wrong."

"You wanna help?" He asked suddenly, looking up in surprise.

"Well... Yea, I wanna try and help, so does Sir. We want to sort this all out so you and the others can have a nice experience here at the classes. But we can't help if you refuse to explain your side of all this. It would be unfair if we only heard from Jimmy's perspective, wouldn't it?" Maya's firm grip turned into a gentle pat on the shoulder, as Todd nodded silently. "So please. Tell me what's up."

Todd bit his lip, once again debating whether he can trust her. She's warm and inviting though, despite the icy stare occasionally during lessons, and she clearly wants to help. So, with a deciding nod, he answered calmly. "Ever since we were kids, everyone's always... Always liked Jimmy more than me. And I've never understood why. We're practically the same, but they always treat him with smiles and love and... Treat me with anger. They all think something's wrong with me."

"Who's they?"

"Everyone, I guess. It... It got worse, a few years ago though. When I was 11. And... I met a guy in my class that I really liked. I still do, and we're still close."

Maya nodded, and smiled a little. "Are you gay, Todd?"

"I-I... I think so. My mom and dad keep saying that I'm too young to understand, but I DO understand. I've never had any interest in girls, my mom's always tried to pair me up with her friend's kid Alice but I've never liked her that way. She's a friend, yea, but she's not... I don't love her that way." Todd took a shaky breath, starting to tremble. "Y-You aren't... Mad at me are you?"

"What, for being gay? No! Not at all!" Her smile had vanished now, and instead Maya felt angry: he had been bullied himself, and then mocked even more for being gay. So he had taken it all out on Jimmy. "But... I'm guessing your family are mad at you?"

After a long moment of silence, Todd nodded and spoke. "Yea. They get mad whenever I bring up guys that I like. I-I... I started bullying Jimmy because I wanted to feel better than him for once. I wanted him to experience what it felt like to be dragged down. But over time it became less of a personal thing and more... Bullying because it felt good. People joined in and I wasn't treated so bad by the kids in my class cuz I was considered cool. I stopped feeling that bad about it."

Maya wrapped her arms around the boy, and held him. Todd remained still in her arms, not hugging back but feeling relaxed and at ease as he was comforted by an adult who cared. It was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and he felt better already. "I'm so sorry you've been hurt like that Todd. I'm not gay, but that doesn't mean I don't accept those who are. You should be allowed to love who you wanna love. And... I understand too, about bullying. Me and my brother Jarrod, we got bullied a lot as kids. He became a bit of a jerk himself, hurting the younger kids and being rude and inconsiderate. But..." She paused for a second, before coming to a quick decision and continuing, "But now he's realised that bullying is wrong. Even if it makes you feel good, it doesn't make others feel good, and you're only becoming the thing that hurt you and that you hated. He's doing a lot better now, he's happier, and he's even got himself a lovely girlfriend." She wasn't exactly lying to his face, but it wasn't exactly true either.

"Really?"

"Yea. You can turn this all around Todd, I know you can. It may seem hard, but you can do it. I believe in you. And as for your family... I'll be having a word with them. Maybe I can change their minds."

Smiling, Todd finally wrapped his arms around her and hugged back. "Thank you..."

"No problem. Just trying to help, y'know? Now, how's about you head on outside and get some lunch, yea? You must be hungry after all this." Todd lifted his head from her shoulder, and saw as his teacher smiled down at him warmly and kindly. The tight knot in his chest and the heavy weight on his back both disappeared, and he felt great, brand new almost. He was going to start over and sort things out, and he was going to be a better person.

"Yea, guess I am a little hungry."

With that, Todd grabbed his bag and left the changing rooms, with Maya behind him. As he walked through the doors, saying goodbye to Casey as he left, Maya returned to clearing up the last of the Kung Fu equipment. Both of them smiled to themselves: things were going to get better now.

* * *

"How DARE you attack Camille in such a manner?! You should be ashamed of yourself!" Roared Dai Shi as he glared at Snapper, who was cowering a little as the King was in a state of pure rage. "You could've killed her with the damage you did!"

"B-But my king, she was betraying you! She was sending a scroll to the lioness, I caught her in the act!" Snapper stammered, attempting to reason with the enraged Dai Shi.

As the shouting continued, with Whiger and Scorch pleading both Dai Shi and Snapper to move on and to stop arguing, Camille made a small whine. Having been knocked out by Snapper before Dai Shi found her, the sudden screaming and yelling hurt her ears and head, and made her wince. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open and she called out weakly. "Dai... Shi...?"

"My king! She is awake!" Whiger growled quickly, before pointing quickly at the woman who lay resting on the steps by the throne, fur cloak wrapped firmly around her like a blanket. Dai Shi stopped yelling at Snapper, and immediately turned around. The first thing Jarrod felt was relief: she was alive. Alive and awake despite her additional bruises. Carefully, he knelt beside her and held her hand, emotions overwhelming him.

"Dai Shi..." She looked up at him, and smiled weakly.

"I'm here, don't worry. I'm here. You're safe now." Quietly, he soothed her, smiling a little to himself as the warm feeling within his heart grew. Jarrod admired this woman so much, and his emotions had began to show more through Dai Shi than ever.

Camille smiled a little longer, then seemed to grow upset and distressed. "Where... Where is Flit?"

"He's not with you? Why?"

She took a deep and painful breath: she couldn't tell him the truth. But there was one thing she could do... "I... I don't know... H-He's usually with me... Where is he?!" Acting. Camille was good at acting.

"You liar! You sent him away to the lioness with that scroll! I saw you!" Yelled Snapper.

Camille's eyes widened, and although she scrambled to hide herself behind Dai Shi she was still weak. "I-I would never do that! I never would betray Master!"

"Do you not remember anything, Camille?" Asked Whiger, much calmer than either of the other two Generals.

She paused for a moment, and held her head. "I... I remember the scroll. I was going to bring it to Dai Shi, t-to you all, so we could better understand the new enemy. The information on it was valuable. T-Then... I got attacked, by Snapper. I remember screaming, and then I blacked out." She winced, as a small wave of pain hit her. Protectively, Dai Shi held her close and let her rest her body against him, before looking at his General in rage once more.

"So... You attack my best and most loyal warrior, and then proceed to try and blame a crime of betrayal upon her?! How dare you Snapper!"

Now frantic to end this insanity, Scorch quickly intervened, stepping in between the furious Dai Shi and the also quite angry Snapper. "My king, please do not try to attempt anything irrational. You require all three of us to reach your full power. We can even give Camille great powers as well, if you so desire!" Of course, Scorch did not want this, but he needed to calm the beast.

"You... You can?" Camille asked softly, still aching: this wasn't an act, the pain within her body was quite overwhelming.

Whiger answered her, honest in his words: he did not mind if Camille became a General, honestly. She was a woman of loyalty and honour, and he respected that. "If the king so wishes to, then yes: we can grant you power equivalent to us. You can be a General as well."

Dai Shi gazed down at Camille, thoughtful. Memories of a few days ago resurfaced in his mind, and again he heard Jarrod's voice: ' _If we're going to be king of this world... Don't you think we need a queen?'_ Taking a quiet yet deep breath, Jarrod looked back up at the Phantom Beasts. "Do that then. If I am to be king... Then Camille shall be my queen."

Snapper growled in rage, but Whiger ignored him and bowed. "Then it shall be done, my king."


End file.
